Show Me Eternity (and I Will Show You Memory)
by MaliceInWonderland23
Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve
1. Thaw

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity (and I will show you memory)."

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

* * *

**A/N: This story is Darcy-centric and hopefully part of a series. It will be canon and AU at the same time, if that makes sense. I'll change a lot of things, but keep them similar…yeah. Big thanks to my beta, ****emickohania21.**

**So, here's Show Me Eternity. I know this plot has been done before, but I wanted to do it my own way. **

**Note: The cover image is not mine, it belongs to puffabilly. **

* * *

_"__Morning  
might come  
by Accident -  
Sister -  
Night comes  
by Event -  
To believe the  
final line of  
the Card would  
foreclose Faith -  
Faith is Doubt.  
Sister -  
Show me  
Eternity, and  
I will show  
you Memory...  
Be next, what  
you have never  
been, Infinity"_

-Emily Dickinson

Chapter One

~Thaw~

"Why me?"

Darcy Lewis was a graduate student. She wasn't even part of S.H.I.E.L.D, just an assistant to one of their scientists. Why the hell was she handling something at clearance level 6? This entire thing was bewildering to her.

"Because, Miss Lewis. We'd like to give him some time away from S.H.I.E.L.D. We'd hate for it to be overwhelming," Coulson replied smoothly.

"What's in it for me?" Darcy questioned. If she was going to help some stranger, she wanted to know what the benefits were.

"Excuse me?" Coulson raised an eyebrow.

Darcy narrowed her eyes, hoping (and failing) to look menacing. "What do I get out of this?"

Just then, a tall, muscled, handsome, _muscled_ man entered. Coulson cleared his throat. "Darcy, meet Captain Rogers. Captain Rogers, meet Darcy." And then the impossible happened.

Darcy Lewis had been rendered speechless.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Coulson said, handing Darcy a thick file before excusing himself.

Captain Rogers stuck a hand out and Darcy shook it. "Hi."

"Hello, ma'am."

With a snort, she corrected him. "You're like…what…two, three times my age? I don't think that 'ma'am' is necessary." _It makes me feel old_, was the real answer, but for the sake of politeness, she kept her trap shut.

"What would you prefer I call you?" he asked, ever the gentleman. His manners surprised Darcy—most men (if any) wouldn't call her "ma'am" in the first place, much less ask her what she would "prefer" to be called.

"Queen Darcy," she joked. His eyes widened. "It's a joke, Captain Muscles. Darcy is fine."

"Then please," he insisted, "call me Steve."

"Okay, Steve. I'm supposed to bring you to your apartment. And then teach you about…" she scrolled through the file with her index finger, "cell phones."

"Cell phones?" he questioned.

"Sorry, Cap. Somehow forgot. This," she pulled her own device out, "is a cell-phone. Like a regular phone except you can take it with you and use it to send messages."

Steve, utterly befuddled, took the piece of technology from her. "Cell-phone," he muttered.

"So, to your apartment." She nudged him with her arm and they headed outside, only to be surrounded by reporters. Flinching visibly, Steve looked around at the strangers shoving things in his face.

"Move it, people!" Darcy shouted, elbowing photographers and journalists out of the way and heading to her car. She headed to her side of the door, fingers on the handle when a voice interrupted her.

"Please, let me."

Taking a few steps back, Darcy glanced into his eyes (beautiful, yet guarded, pools of blue that, she realized, seemed to echo forever) and he opened the door for her.

"Thanks," she told him gratefully.

When he got into his own seat, she noticed how much he had to crouch in order to not hurt himself. "Sorry. It was a graduation gift from high school, not something meant to hold…you know."

Turning the ignition, Darcy got the car running before turning the CD player on. It spewed out some alternative-blues song (probably the Black Keys, Steve would find out later) that made him jump a little.

Small hums escaped Darcy's red lips as they drove in the silence. Steve wanted to say something, as the silence only brought forth painful thoughts (memories? They seemed so recent), but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Instead, he listened to the music, watched the woman beside him drive and occasionally mumble along, and stared out at the buildings before him.

* * *

"So, um, this is your apartment," Darcy informed Steve, pulling her key out of the ignition.

She got out and opened the door for him again before heading up the stairs to the third floor. Door number…sixteen.

When she reached it, Darcy dug around the file a little for a key. "Tada!" She swung open the door and let him look around. On the table was a phone and a post-it that was labelled "Darcy, teach Steve about texting and calling. No games."

_Killjoys,_ she thought, because seriously, what decent person does that?

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the TV.

"That's a TV. You had those, right? Anyway, there are more channels now and they're more common. And flatter." Her thoughts shifted from helping him to whether or not she set _Once Upon a Time_ to record.

"Huh." He wandered around a little more. "So, uh, how do you know S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Darcy looked at him. "My boss works for them. She does research in exchange for a lab and an apartment."

After New Mexico, Darcy's status was upgraded from intern to assistant, although it was more like she was the best friend that forced Jane to eat and sleep.

"Oh." One thing Darcy had learned in the past hour or so was that Steve was apparently mild-mannered. It was odd—she thought that such a strong guy that saved America would be more confident.

"Yeah. So, sit. The cabinets are stocked and there should be some clothes in the dresser. But I need to show you the basics of a phone." She entered her cell number into his contacts. "If you need anything, call me. Just tap on my name. I can help with most things and know people who can help with the things I can't. If you need to send me a…uh…_letter_, then just tap on the messages thing," she sent a message to herself so she could have his number, "and type what you need to say."

He stared at the screen blankly for a while.

Darcy cleared her throat. "So, um…yeah. I'll meet you here tomorrow morning, okay? The file says you grew up here, but as you can guess, a lot has changed in the past seventy years. I'll give you a tour and then we can go through history."

"Okay," he nodded. "Tomorrow."

She gave him a soft smile. "Yeah. Tomorrow."

She stepped towards the door, her boots making light thuds on the floor.

"Oh, and Steve?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not just here for teaching you about technology. If you even need someone to talk to, or someone to listen, I'm here." He offered a small grin.

"Thanks."

Her face lit up. "Okay. Tomorrow."

* * *

Darcy stayed up late, looking through Steve's file. Holy _shitballs_ the guy had been through a lot. No wonder he acted so quiet. He was shorter than her before the experiment.

Someone's heart was ripped out on the screen of her television but she ignored that, instead choosing to focus on the pictures and list of his accomplishments.

Apparently, he had attempted to enlist multiple times but was too little. His parents died when he was young…oh man. Darcy really needed to call her mom now.

With a glance at the clock, she decided to put it off until tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, after an uncomfortable conversation with her mother, Darcy arrived at eight-thirty at Steve's door with two coffees, a few books from the library, and a sketchbook with some art supplies.

Steve looked, to put it gently, like hell. Not that she could blame him, though. "Hi. Coffee? It's black." Steve took it gratefully. "So, I have some stuff for you." She handed him the tray from the coffee shop. "These are some art supplies and some books about history and technology and stuff." Then, she pulled some more books out of her bag. "And these are some psychological guides. I personally think that most of them are b.s., but S.H.I.E.L.D. requires me to give them to you, so…uh…yeah."

"Thanks. Would you like to come in?" he offered.

"Yeah. Thanks." She pushed past him to the coffee table where she began to unload everything. "Oh, and I brought donuts." With a frown, she looked around at the apartment. "Change of plans. Today, I teach you about music and online shopping. This apartment is boring." When she noticed the look he was giving her, she added to her previous comment in a weak attempt to make it polite. Filtering was not her strongest skill. "I mean, not boring, but plain. You should spruce it up a little."

"Okay." Steve shrugged. Again, Darcy wondered how he gave orders when he acted like this.

"Okay. So, here's the search box. Type in what you would like to know and then press enter. These are links."

And they continued on like that, her telling him all about internet searches, and him muttering about how it made no sense, but Steve was smiling, actually, genuinely smiling for the first time since he woke up.

"Holy shit!" Darcy exclaimed, opening her eyes. She had fallen asleep after ordering pizza and beer (much to her dismay, he could not get drunk), and here she was, on a couch with one strong arm was wrapped around her.

She smacked said arm frantically as the events of the day before came back to her. "Steve! Wake up!" In an instant, the man shot up, throwing her off the couch in the process, and assumed a fighting stance.

Upon discovering that there was no threat, only Darcy, he ran a hand through his hair and helped her up. "Sorry," he apologized. "Instinct."

Darcy didn't reply, only smiled. While, _yeah_, being thrown around wasn't her favorite thing to do, some part of her understood. "No problem, it's just that Jane's in the lab and I was supposed to be there…" she looked at the clock, "…exactly a half-hour ago."

"Do you need any help?" he offered.

"Nope, just need to get there before Jane kills me. She might be small, but she's deadly." This was true, as proven by the injuries an unlucky shield agent attained whilst reorganizing her office.

Steve laughed, a deep, rumbly sound from low in his throat that almost made Darcy shiver.

"Gotta go!" she yelled, before speeding out the door.

Ten minutes later, Darcy rushed into the lab, hair still messed up. "Sorry!"

Jane looked up from a screen, a Pop-Tart in her hand. "What?"

Darcy sighed. "Did you even attempt to sleep?"

"I've reached a huge discovery in my research," Jane defended as she sank her teeth into the pastry once more.

"Jane…" Darcy began.

"No! See! Look at this. If you study the astrochemistry, you can see that the universe actually _bends_ a little here. That could be our way to get back to him."

"Jane, wouldn't you, like, need a rocket to reach it?" Darcy asked, crinkling her nose in concentration.

"Not if I was able to…" Jane trailed off, typing furiously with one hand. "…warp the portal to…"

Darcy slammed Jane's computer shut. "We're getting breakfast."

"Darcy!" Jane waved around the Pop-Tart.

"Jane, you and your beautiful brain need more than a Pop-Tart to bring an alien god back to earth. So, let's go." Jane huffed but complied, following the taller woman out the door.

"So, how's that thing they called you in for?" Jane asked, and Darcy tried to remember how she had ended up wrapped in Steve's arm.

"Steve?" she asked coyly.

"Yeah."

Darcy smiled. "He's nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah." Jane gave her a look and Darcy gasped. "You think I slept with him!? The dude has more important things to worry about, like—" her phone began vibrating mid-rant. "Hello?"

"Erm…Darcy?" Steve spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Can I meet you somewhere for breakfast?"

Darcy placed a hand over the receiver. "Jane, can Steve come to breakfast?" Jane just shrugged. "Yeah. Get a cab and then tell the guy that we're at the Eighth Street Diner."

"Okay."

Ten minutes later, the soldier himself strolled into the diner, his eyes roaming over the place, before settling on the two brunettes in the corner. He rushed over.

"Steve, meet Jane. Jane, meet Steve," Darcy introduced.

"Hi," Jane greeted, and as Steve draped his brown leather jacket over the booth, mouthed "he's cute!" to Darcy, who, in return, shot Jane a desperate look and a "please don't."

"So, are you part of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Steve asked Jane.

"Somewhat," she replied.

Awkward silence followed. Proceeded by ordering. Proceeded by eating.

Jane shot a horrified look at the amount of food Steve ordered. "Is he usually like this?" she whispered to Darcy.

"He ate a whole pizza last night." The waitress was twirling her hair around her finger innocently while asking what sides Steve wanted. Then, she turned to Darcy and asked her what she wanted.

"I'll be right back with those," Susan, as her nametag was labelled, headed back, shooting a wink at the already uncomfortable Steve.

"Are women usually this forward?" he asked, interrupting Darcy and Jane's hushed argument about the words to a song.

"Huh?" Jane asked.

"Are women usually so…" he trailed off.

"Flirty?" Jane supplied.

"Uh…yeah."

"Not always," Darcy informed the soldier. He might have basic knowledge about texting and reality TV, but socially, he still had a long way to go.

"Yeah, they could be shy," Jane added.

"Or they could be completely shameless," Darcy chimed in, thinking back to a few vague, alcohol-filled nights in college. "But to be honest, that was pretty mild."

"Oh."

"Yup," Darcy sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. "We should take you to a club!"

"Darcy!" Jane exclaimed, horrified.

"I was kidding, Jane. Relax."

"A club?" Steve interjected.

The two women looked at each other, before Darcy spoke up. "Jane, I'm gonna hand this off to you."

"A club is a place where people go dancing."

"We had those."

Jane winced slightly. "Well, you see, these are kind of different from what you had. These are a little less…_modest_."

Darcy snorted. "Yeah. Just a _little_ less modest."

"What do you mean?" Steve questioned.

Darcy leaned closer to him and whispered something in his ear. Something that caused color to spread up from his neck to his cheeks.

Suddenly, somebody's phone buzzed. Jane looked down at her purse and picked it up.

"Hello? Yeah, Erik. I'll be there soon. Okay. Bye." She looked at Darcy and smiled. "He finished one of the equations. I'm gonna head over to the lab."

"Bye!" Darcy called and Jane waved. "So. You have plans today?" she questioned, turning to Steve.

"No."

"Cool. Wanna see a movie?"

"Okay."

"Good."

Steve pulled out his wallet but Darcy waved him away. "I got this. You can buy the tickets."

They headed down the street and towards the theater, where Darcy picked a horror movie.

Somehow, halfway through, she ended up digging her nails into Steve's arm. The seat divider was raised so she could hug his shoulder whenever _Jaws_ type music began playing.

A person was dragged into the bottom of the pool, tied to a chair, and Darcy jumped, squeaking a little.

Steve's thumb drew absentminded shaped on the back of her hand, comforting her.

* * *

"I'm _so_ gonna have nightmares forever," Darcy proclaimed as they got into the cab. It had started to rain sometime while they were watching and neither brought umbrellas.

"Forever?" Steve laughed.

"Forever. That was the freakiest movie I have ever seen. And I'm an adrenaline junkie." Darcy's features formed a pout and she turned to Steve. "Aren't you scared?"

"I've seen worse things than that."

"Oh yeah. Right." _Duh, Darcy. How did you not connect the dots?_ "So, Cap, where to next?"

* * *

"So, what did you think about Steve?" Darcy asked, leaning back against a table and chewing a Pop-Tart. Jane rushed around her, a white lab coat flying up behind her.

"He's…nice. He's doing well, I suppose. Has he experienced any PTSD?"

Darcy crinkled her forehead in thought. "I don't know."

"You don't?" Jane looked perplexed. "It should say in his file."

"Well, it doesn't," Darcy retorted. Jane looked up from a microscope and rolled her eyes. "Can I do anything for you? Maybe buy myself some shoes with your card? Make some Jane Foster spiritwear?"

"Darcy, please, be quiet so I can focus." She sighed. "Why don't you go visit Steve? Maybe teach him all about setting up a Wi-Fi router, or tell him about political advances."

"You sure you're okay with this?" Darcy clarified, surprised that she wasn't needed.

"Definitely."

"Great. And I'm coming back later with dinner. Then you're going to go home and sleep."

* * *

"Steve?" Darcy asked, knocking on the door. "Uh…Steve?" With a hesitant glance at the knob, she twisted, and unexpectedly, it opened. "Steve?"

A hand shot out from behind her, pinning her in a chokehold.

"Help!" she shrieked, digging for her Taser, tugging it out and jabbing her attacker in the hip. It buzzed, some of the shock being passed on to her, and he pulled away. Her knees buckled as she struggled for air. Before she could hit the ground, someone grabbed her. "Steve?" She couldn't believe it. Maybe Jane was right about the PTSD.

The soldier himself was now staring at his hands in disbelief. "Darcy, I—"

She raised her hand and drew it across his face, the clap echoing in the air. Then, her features softened into a concerned gaze. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry. I just…I don't know what happened. I completely blacked out."

"Have you seen one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s therapists?"

"No."

"Have you seen a normal therapist?"

"No."

"Have you talked to anyone about it?"

"No."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she probed. One, she was working on sympathy. Two, she could tell the facts from his file—she couldn't know how it was to go through it.

"Not…not now. Maybe another time?"

With a smile, Darcy answered. "Okay. Another time." After a moment of awkward silence, Darcy let out a breath. "So…how's your reading been going?"

"Oh! I'm up to the Dominican Intervention."

"Good." She pushed past him and headed for the kitchen, opening the fridge in search for food. "So, I see that you have…oatmeal, cold cuts, bread, a block of cheddar cheese, and milk. I can work with that." Throughout college, Darcy had expanded her knowledge of food from Cocoa Puffs and Ramen to Pop-Tarts and sandwiches. It wasn't a ton, but just enough to get by.

Darcy began to remove different things as Steve settled himself on his couch. A few minutes later, she put a plate in front of him.

"How much do you think I eat?" he asked, sending her and incredulous look.

"Says the man that ordered two steaks, three sides of bacon, an omelet, pancakes, and four glasses of milk for breakfast." Steve sighed and gazed at the sandwich—a six inch tower of meat and cheese. "Sooo…"

Steve looked up from his book, and at that moment, Darcy realized exactly how handsome he was.

She knew that Steve was attractive, that girls (and sometimes guys) stared at him when they went to that diner or walked around. But now she realized that she was actually, really attracted to him. Which was actually, really _different_.

"…mayonnaise," Steve finished, just in time for Darcy to snap out of her thoughts. Her crazy, unreasonable thoughts about feelings that she would never, _ever_ act on for the sake of human decency.

"What?"

"I said that the sandwich would be better with mayonnaise."

"Oh." She wasn't actually listening. _Don't think about how beautiful he looks right now. Damn he's pretty. _And then: _Cut it out, Lewis._

"You okay?"

"Fine. I have to drop a sandwich off at the lab for Jane."

"Darcy…"

"I'm fine, really. Just have to go."

The door shut behind her, leaving Steve to wonder what happened.

* * *

**A/N: I hope that you enjoyed this. I'll be posting more soon. Leave a review if you can, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Please please review. **


	2. Struggle

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity (and I will give you memory)." It belongs to Emily Dickinson

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

* * *

**A/N: Okay so I wasn't **_**originally**_** gonna start **_**Avengers**_** until chapter 4 or 5, but, well, the story wanted to get on with it. Also, I know that the lab Selvig worked in was in some remote place, but I stuck it in New York for the sake of the story. Even though that makes **_**zero**_** sense. Two more things: one, this is AU so I'm putting Jane and Darcy where they don't go in the movie. Two, there's a lot of strong language here. Be forewarned. **

* * *

_"__Yes I can, no I can't  
Yes I can, no I can't  
Yes I can, no I can't,"_

-Jukebox the Ghost, "Schizophrenia"

Chapter Two

~Struggle~

"Darcy, calm down! Your pacing is ruining the signals."

"Jane!" Darcy cried. "I have a problem!"

"You're right. The pacing is a problem."

Darcy sat down at a desk and continued muttering to herself.

"Okay, Darcy. Let me finish this thing. If you want, we can have lunch. Until then," Jane handed Darcy a stack of papers, "can you copy these?"

* * *

"I think you should tell him."

"What? Are you crazy, Jane? This guy," she took a fry off the plate, popping it into her mouth, "just woke up from a giant nap. He has bigger issues than this! And I read his file. There was a girl."

"Really?" Jane said as she pulled a pen from her bag. She began to scribble on the paper napkin.

Darcy pulled the pen out of her hands. "I need your help."

"Darcy, either tell him or stop moping."

"It's not that easy!"

"I'm trying to move worlds, alter the universe. I'm sorry if your 'relationship issues' are the least of my problems right now," Jane snapped. Darcy's face fell. "Darcy…"

Before she could get out another word, Darcy threw a few bills on the table and left.

* * *

"So this is where you spend all your time," Darcy mused from her spot in the doorway of the gym.

Steve dropped his previously raised arms. "Afternoon, Darcy."

"You know, sometimes, punching actually doesn't relieve stress," she commented, partially distracted by his shirtless abdomen.

"Yeah, well, it's been working for me," he replied briskly. While she didn't want to pry, she wished he would open up a little (a few days still felt like forever)

"Hmm." She pushed off the wall. Her heels clicked against the floor, echoing across the room and disrupting the silence. "Wanna talk?"

"Not right now," he responded and resumed boxing.

"Okay," Darcy complied, somewhat disappointed. "I'll see you later, then." As she left the building, her eyes drifted back to him. Again, she scolded herself, shaking her head, mentally telling herself to "quit being selfish." But _why_ wouldn't he talk?

_Because he's been through a lot and has only known you for approximately five days_, reasoning answered.

But, as she got into her car, she looked at the window of the gym just once before heading back to her own home.

* * *

The next morning, the tension in the lab was clear to all of Jane's new assistants/interns. Darcy stayed in the corner on her laptop, Jane stayed in the opposite side of the room with a notebook, working on equations. Selvig looked awkwardly between the two before looking at his samples.

"Um, Miss Lewis?" one of the interns asked, entering the room. "There's a man here to see you."

"I'm busy," she growled, trying to focus on her screen. Darcy was so _not_ in the mood.

Sighing, the intern left, only to return moments later. "Miss Lewis, he's insistent."

"Tell him to go away," she demanded. Damn persistence.

Again, she left. Again, she returned. "He says to tell you that he's Steve."

Looking up, Darcy glared at the intern, holding her gaze for quite a while before dropping it and closing her computer. "Thanks, Carla."

Standing, she stretched her back before moving out to the entrance of the lab. "Steve?"

The super soldier turned around. "Hello, Darcy." Darcy looked at him, opening her mouth to speak, say anything (maybe even what Jane advised she say) but quickly clamped it shut.

"What are you doing here?" she smiled, nudging him with her elbow.

"You said that if I needed to talk…" he trailed off nervously, putting his hands in his pockets. "Maybe we can go on a walk?"

Darcy smiled. "Okay. Lead the way, Cap."

* * *

Once he had gotten it all out, and she had (no joke) stayed completely silent the entire time, she took him to the Apple store where things about the internet just…clicked. He was definitely doing better than when she first met him.

After that and a quick lunch, Darcy returned home. Everything he said was almost identical to the notes in that file folder, but infinitely worse. Especially the part about Bucky. Darcy could only imagine what that would be like, watching Jane fall into an abys, her fingers just inches away from solace, her grip slipping, catching only air as the woman she loved like a sister fell to her death, her body to be left for the wolves. Or whatever would lurk below. Even though she was pissed at her, it would still suck.

With a sigh, she unlocked the door and opened it, only to find Jane sitting at her kitchen table.

"What?" Darcy grumbled. How had Jane even gotten in? Oh. Right. She had a key. Whoopdee-freaking-doo.

"I'm sorry," Jane apologized. "I've been so stressed…he's been gone for almost a year. My computer can't handle any more equations, I've gone through three scientific calculators in the past few weeks…I'm exhausted."

"You were right," Darcy conceded. "I mean, you were wrong too, since I actually needed advice, but you were right about how much important stuff you've got going on."

Jane exhaled. "I miss him."

"I know, hun," Darcy consoled. Sometimes, Jane seemed so indestructible that she forgot the scientist was a person too.

"I try to work so that I don't feel so…"

"Sad?" the younger woman offered.

"…angry!" Jane finished. "I'm tired of pining over him!"

"Yeah!" Darcy cheered.

"He's been gone for a _year!_"

"Yeah!"

"I want a night off!" Jane demanded.

"Yeah!" Darcy stopped suddenly. "Wait. _What?_"

"I'm going out," Jane proclaimed.

"With _who_?" Darcy grilled.

"There was a guy that came by the lab a few days ago," she confided.

"There _was_?"

"Assume everything I say is true, okay?"

"Okay," Darcy caved.

"Well, his name is Richard," Jane confided.

"Richard?" Darcy remembered a Richard coming by the lab (only vaguely, though).

"Yes, Richard."

"Is he cute?"

"Sort of." Jane thought back, before stumbling upon something more important. "Aw, man. I need something to wear."

Darcy sighed in mock-exasperation. "Okay. _Fine_, you can borrow something."

"Gee, _thanks._" Jane rolled her eyes before directing herself to the closet.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

* * *

Darcy realized that her laptop charger was still at the lab, so she swung by to pick it up. Selvig and the lab assistants were still there, all looking a little crazed.

Suddenly, signals started going crazy, and just as Darcy was about to leave, Selvig held a monitor out to her. "Darcy! Jane's not picking up her phone. Can you get her to come back here?" Banging it on a desk to make sure that Jane's crazy equipment wasn't just being Jane's crazy equipment, she sighed as though in great pain.

"Fi-ine."

Jane was going to some fancy place that probably had, like, four options on the menu. She couldn't remember the name.

When she finally got a cab, she told him four words: "Fancy restaurant, four choices."

He lurched forward, winding through traffic and dumping her on the doorstep. "Wait here."

She took the monitor and headed in to find Jane.

"Um, ma'am, we're reservation only," a hostess said, looking her up and down.

"I have a reservation," Darcy lied, shoving past her to find the tiny brunette.

She did, eventually, find the woman cowering behind her menu (which actually only had three choices. Go figure).

She stepped up to the plate, ready to drag Jane back to the lab, when—

"Can we get some wine?" her date (Richard?) asked.

"Sure, I'd love some," Darcy replied, dragging a chair over from another table and plopped her butt down on it. "The Tesseract is acting up." Darcy produced the monitor.

"What? Why?"

"That's what I said," Darcy exclaimed, though it was more what she thought.

Jane knocked it against the table, causing the delicate water glass before her to almost fall over.

"That's what I did. Erik needs you in the lab."

Jane shot an apologetic look at Richard. "Sorry."

He waved her away. "That's fine. Go."

"Really?"

"Yes."

They caught the cab and the tires screeched, forcing them forward.

When they finally got to the site, _Nick-freaking-Fury_ was there, talking to Coulson with _Maria Freaking Hill_, all three of whom seemed to be worried.

"She's misbehaving," Selvig said. An assistant poked it with a rod, only to act as though he had been shocked by Darcy's Taser.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury retorted. Jane pulled on a lab coat before going to check the readings. Darcy followed her, having no idea how else she could contribute.

"Where's the Hawk?" Fury asked.

"Oh. Him? He's in his nest," Selvig said. Darcy looked around for a bird, but found nothing. But then, she saw a man shimmying down a rope in the corner before heading over to the Tesseract.

"Can I do anything?" Darcy asked Jane.

"Let me know if this thing starts beeping," Jane replied, looking at her computer and beginning to type. She murmured incoherent words under her breath.

Blue lights exploded from the cube, and the thing Jane had handed Darcy began beeping at an incredibly rapid rate. "Hey Jane!" Darcy called. "It's beeping!"

The scientist pried the thing out of her hands, but all of a sudden, the cube just blew up (yet it still remained intact), leaving a figure of a man before them.

Darcy wanted to scream, but because men and women in bulletproof vests were holding guns, she decided to keep her hole shut.

The Man looked up, his eyes tinted with animosity.

"Sir! Please put down the spear!" Fury called. The Man looked at whatever the hell was in his hand, almost guiltily, before abruptly pointing it at one of the people in the bulletproof suits.

"Shit!" Darcy cried, close to wetting her pants. She tackled Jane to the ground (because in the movies, people seemed to avoid dying by jumping on each other).

"Oh my God," Jane whispered. The Man threw knives at two people, blasted another few away, and kicked one into a wall. The once pristine lab now lay (figuratively) in ashes.

The Hawk guy attempted to stand, only for the Man to charge at him, stopping him from pulling the trigger of his gun.

"Do you have a heart?" the Man asked, his voice gravelly and rough. He tapped his staff/spear/god-knows-what onto the Hawk's chest, and his eyes washed over, becoming black before turning a chilling shade of blue.

_What the fuck is that? _Darcy thought. When she looked a little closer, she realized that he was dressed like Thor. Like, a lot.

The Hawk put his gun in a thigh holster, and Fury began to collect the Tesseract. The more people poked, the more possessed.

The two men exchanged conversation in voices too low for Darcy to hear. Until: "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I have been burdened with glorious purpose."

What. The. Hell.

"Loki," Selvig said, standing from the corpse of a guard.

_Loki…who the fuck is—_

"Brother of Thor," Selvig stated.

_Right._

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury claimed, raising a hand. Jane squirmed underneath Darcy, struggling to hear what was happening.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki spat.

"Are you planning to step on us?" Fury questioned disbelievingly.

"I come with _glad_ tidings!" Loki claimed, sounding extremely sadistic. Or masochistic…? Darcy could never remember which was which. Loki was still talking nonsense about how freedom was not having freedom and Darcy was scared as hell.

And then, Loki tapped Selvig on the chest.

Darcy wanted to cry out, to unleash the wrath of her Taser on this guy. She wanted to scream _Hell no! That guy's my friend!_ She wanted to do _something, anything_ about him but she couldn't find her voice.

Hawk guy spoke up. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling."

_Oh, so you call one guy Director as you rat out his plans?_

"This place is about to blow. He means to bury us."

Wait. _What?_

Never before that moment did Darcy think she had an impending death. Never.

And oh, did it _suck_.

And now Selvig said she had _two goddamn minutes?_

The group of possessed-people took the cube.

"Wait!" Darcy called, standing up and pulling Jane with her. "We need a ride out."

Fury nodded and beckoned for them to follow, and Darcy assumed that although Fury was a complete hard-ass sometimes that he did have a heart. Maybe. Probably.

They ran up to a helicopter, where he let them board first.

As the building collapsed in on itself, the giant vehicle began to fly, zipping away to chase the truck Loki was in.

Gunshots rang in Darcy's ears, and it was a lot louder than what James Bond made it seem like.

Eventually, the agent next to them leaned over, handing them both guns.

"No," Darcy snapped. "I have a Taser."

"A Taser might not be enough," the agent said.

"If my Taser could take down the God of Thunder, my Taser can take down his little, scrawny brother."

The agent shut up.

But then—oh shit—the helicopter began spinning and heading for the ground. Fury hopped from it, shooting at people and Darcy thought that there was no way she could cheat death twice in a day. No way.

Jane clutched her arm, shutting her eyes.

Aw, man. Jane was going to die too?

By some miracle, the agent next to them pulled them out and they jumped.

Jane's knees were scraped badly (she had no time to change out of her date outfit), Darcy's jeans ripped open, and the other agent looked…perfectly fine. Damn him.

"Fury, do you copy?" Coulson's voice asked through the walkie-talkie on Fury's belt.

"I have casualties. Hill?"

Her muffled reply came though as well.

"Dr. Foster," Fury said. "I need you to report to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters at six a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir," Jane replied, slightly dumbfounded.

"Bring sufficient clothing and materials for at least a week."

"Yes, sir."

Fury pulled out his walkie-talkie, calling for an SUV to take Jane and Darcy home.

By the time Darcy had actually unlocked her apartment door, it was past midnight. She headed straight for her closet to pack a bag.

After that, she treated her knees. Both had mostly scabbed over, but little bits of blood still trickled out so she left Band-Aids on, just in case.

Nightmare-plagued sleep came and went, and before Darcy knew it, she had to get up.

Once she reached the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, she began searching for Jane.

Suddenly, a voice spoke over the crappy PA system. "Dr. Foster, Miss Lewis, please make your way to the jet pad."

"What is happening!?" Darcy growled, waving her hands around. "Dammit."

The pair of women headed up the stairs to the roof, where two people were standing. Both looked familiar.

"Steve?" Darcy called. The man turned around. "And…you! You're the one that took my iPod!"

Coulson turned around and stared at her. "Hello, Miss Lewis. Glad to have you on board."

"You can't be serious! Why am I being brought into this?" Jane hollered.

"You've studied numerous ways to create a bridge into different worlds, Doctor. We need your knowledge on this."

"Time to board," the pilot called, interrupting the discussion.

The four passengers piled onto the small jet. It took off, zipping over the ocean as silence reigned inside.

Eventually, Steve began to speak.

"So this 'Dr. Banner' was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" he clarified, looking up from his tablet.

"A lot of people were," Coulson replied, shrugging a little. "You were the world's first superhero. Dr. Banner thought Gamma radiation might hold the key to Erskine's original formula."

Steve looked down at the screen, where a giant green monster was destroying Harlem. "Didn't really go his way, did it?"

Darcy snorted. "That's an understatement."

Coulson chose to ignore her. "Not so much." He blew out a breath. "But he's got that thing though—the guy's like a Steven Hawking."

Steve stared at him blankly, causing Darcy to giggle.

"He's like, a, uh, like a smart person." Both men nodded, Steve looking back down at the tablet. "I gotta say," Coulson started, "it's an honor to meet you. Officially." Steve's lip twitched. "I sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping."

Darcy snorted. Steve raised an eyebrow in amusement. Jane looked down at the notebook she was holding, scribbling things down and muttering to herself.

"I mean…I uh, I was present while you were unconscious," Coulson backtracked as the other man stood, looking out the front of the plane. "From the ice. You know, it's a, it's a…it's just a huge honor to have you on board."

"Nice save," Darcy muttered.

Coulson sent her a look that clearly said that she should respect him, but there was no way she agreed with that (especially not since he took her iPod).

"Just…" he trailed off.

"Well I hope I'm the man for the job," Steve said, gazing out over the ocean.

"Oh you are," Coulson returned, nodding. "Absolutely."

Darcy watched the exchange, biting back a laugh. This guy, the one who dare challenge Jane Foster, was being all bashful and shying away from Captain America, whom he had a man-crush on.

"Uh, we made some modifications to the uniform," Coulson continued. "I had a little design input."

Darcy burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer.

"Uniform?" Steve asked, looking as stoic as ever. "Are the stars and stripes a little..." he paused, searching for words. "Old fashioned?"

"Everything that's happening…the things that are about to come to light…people might just _need_…a little 'old-fashioned.'"

God, it was like this guy was scripted.

Darcy then ignored them, falling half-asleep.

As she felt the jet descending from the sky, Darcy was startled awake.

"Hey, we're here," Steve said, nudging her gently.

"Is it Monday?" Darcy asked. "Never mind."

She sat up, grabbing her bag and stretching, which allowed her to see exactly _where _they had landed.

On a giant boat.

It was bigger that all the Disney cruise ships smashed together, she decided (not that she had ever been on a cruise ship, much less a Disney one).

"Holy shit!"

Ever the gentleman, Steve allowed Darcy and Jane to pass (he even offered to let Coulson, but he declined) before he exited the plane.

Coulson was boasting about Captain America trading cards as a petite redhead stepped towards them.

From the looks of it, Darcy would guess that she killed people. If she wasn't terrified before, she was now.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced. "And this is Dr. Foster, as well as her assistant Miss Lewis."

"Ma'am," Steve greeted.

"Hi," Romanoff responded.

"Hello," Jane added, shaking Romanoff's hand.

"Yo," Darcy said before she could stop herself. Romanoff raised an eyebrow (Darcy couldn't tell if it was because she thought Darcy was weird or funny) and offered a hand.

Then, she turned to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face scans."

"See you there," he said, turning to Jane and Darcy.

"It was quite the buzz around here," Romanoff began as she started walking, "finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon," she stated dryly.

Steve blushed a little.

"I think she was joking, Cap," Darcy whisper-shouted.

"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve (rightfully) and Darcy (not so rightfully) asked in unison.

Romanoff smirked. "They're vintage. He's very proud."

They came across a man in a brown suit, looking caught in the traffic.

"Dr. Banner!" Jane called out. The man waited for a duo of Kevlar-wearing-guards to pass before crossing the airstrip.

"Oh, yeah, hi," the man greeted nervously, shaking both Jane and Steve's hands. Darcy instantly took a liking to him. Any friend to awkwardness was a friend of hers. He looked at Steve. "They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is…" he began a light discussion with the man.

"Everyone's so intimidating," Darcy commented to Jane, looking around at the people in black with guns and knives galore strapped to their thighs.

"Must be strange for you…all this." Bruce gestured his hands around the deck of the Helicarrier.

"Well," Steve began, watching nostalgically as a group of soldiers run by. "This is actually kind of familiar. And Darcy's been helping me with technology." He smiled at her and she had _freaking butterflies_. She had never had butterflies. And seriously, the one time she has them, the world is at war with a god? The universe was totally against her.

Romanoff ended her phone call before addressing the group. "Ladies, gentlemen, you might wanna step inside. It's gonna get a little hard to breath."

Steve looked around. "Is this a submarine?"

Bruce scoffed. "Really? They want _me_ in a submerged pressurized metal container?"

The two men went to look over the edge, followed by Darcy and Jane.

"Oh this is even worse," Bruce declared as the entire ship began to rise.

"No-freaking-way," Darcy squeaked. "This is awesome."

"Follow me, please," Romanoff said, leading Darcy and Jane to the face scan before letting them drop bags off in their rooms.

While Jane maintained a straight face at the room (modern, and oh-so-pretty), Darcy could barely hold back her excitement. The thing shared a bathroom with a few other women, but after four years of college, two of graduate school, and one living in a trailer driving around looking for aliens, it was nothing Darcy couldn't handle.

"We have a meeting. Dr. Foster, Fury wants me to promote your clearance to a temporary Level Seven, same with you, Lewis. Once you finish this mission, you will return to Level Three."

"Coolio," Darcy uttered.

Romanoff nodded and headed to the main area of the Helicarrier. It looked like an office building. From the future. Every single person bore a matching uniform.

Blech. It was like high school all over again.

Steve wandered off for a moment, enjoying the view, and again Darcy was reminded of how much he had gone through. He crashed in a jet, so it seemed likely that heights weren't going to be so fun for him.

It seemed odd, yet perfectly reasonable, for Dr. Banner to be so submissive. He let people pass before him, made no attempt to elbow past any guards. He seemed like a nice guy that just, you know, had a giant green monster in his head.

"Let's vanish!" Fury called to Deputy Hill. The whole ship/plane/whatever began to bump a little before running smoothly again.

"This is amazing," Jane stated, looking around. "Our lab was good before, but this…this is amazing."

Darcy followed Jane to the conference room, taking a seat in the swivel chair. Jane took the one next to her and Banner the one across.

Pulling out his wallet, Steve handed Fury a ten dollar bill.

"What was that?" Darcy asked when he sat down next to her.

"A bet," he responded simply.

"Doctor, thank you for coming," Fury greeted Jane. "Same to you, Banner."

"Thanks for asking nicely," he replied.

"Hey!" Darcy pouted. "What about me? I feed Jane. Without me, she would be dead."

Fury rolled his eye. "Miss Lewis," he greeted sardonically. "Thank you for coming."

Darcy, pleased with herself, leaned back in the chair and kicked her feet up. The Director eyed her, but when she refused to budge, gave up entirely.

Coulson (looking official with a Bluetooth and wrinkle-free suit) said something to Fury and Bruce. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on earth." He said this as though it was normal.

Unnerved, Darcy began to squirm.

Steve looked over at Romanoff, who was bent over and examining a computer with the Hawk's face on it. "Hey, who's that guy?" Darcy interrupted, pointing to the screen. Romanoff's eyes clouded over, but she didn't snap.

"Clint Barton. He's an assassin."

"Oh. Wow."

"Agent Romanoff?" Fury looked at the redhead. "Show Foster and Banner to their laboratories please."

"You'll love it," she said, smirking. "We've got all the toys."

Darcy followed the doctors and assassin, trying not to wince as a guy wearing _way_ too much cologne passed by.

"Hey, buddy! A little goes a long way!" she called back at him. He ignored her.

Of course, Jane did love it (she had to pick her jaw up off the floor), but almost as soon as they arrived, Romanoff was called away.

"Darcy, help me organize these," Jane ordered, handing her a pile of folders. "Alphabetically, please."

* * *

**A/N: Remember to review!**


	3. Reunion

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity (and I will show you memory)" either.

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

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I'm just putting a warning on all the chapters: Darcy's a potty mouth. Bad words ahead.

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**A/N: WARNING! LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE AHEAD! IMPORTANT!**

**I've been reading a ton of Bruce/Darcy fics recently. However, Darcy is currently unavailable. Please review if you have any ideas as to which character from the MCU you think Bruce should end up with. **_**If you want him to end up with an OC**_**, give me a little biography. If I like the character, I'll PM you for more info. **

**I know that not everybody likes OCs (I don't, ususally) but if I happen to like an idea for one, I might bring them in. **

**Thanks to everyone who followed and favorited.**

**Super super thanks to bval1 and Qweb for reviewing. Your words mean the world to me. I'd love a few more reviews from anyone. I'll accept pretty much anything except for spam and flames.**

**On an unfortunate note, my classes will be beginning soon and my updates will sadly be slower. I hope you can stick with me though, since I've actually planned on making this a series.**

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_Oh, what a world I was born into  
Babies are on the throne,"_

-MO, "Pilgrim"

Chapter Three

~Reunion~

The next morning, Darcy was in the lab holding microscope slides out for Jane, when she saw him. "Is that…" Darcy trailed off, pointing to the man walking outside the lab. He had long, blond hair and armor that obviously wasn't earthly. While she knew that this team of heroes saving the world was _odd_, she didn't think that a god was joining them.

"What?" Jane muttered, not looking up from the microscope. Ever since being introduced to the lab, she had practically put a ring on it, said her vows, and headed off to Tahiti for her honeymoon.

"Look!"

The brunette peered up, and then looked back down a split-second later. And then she stopped, went _rigid_ before looking up again. "Is that him?"

"I think so."

Jane shut her notebook and ran out. Bruce looked at Darcy for answers.

"Boyfriend," was her simple reply. The scientist nodded a little.

Darcy watched the exchange through one-way glass. First, Jane kissed him. Then, Jane slapped him. Twice. Then, Jane kissed him again.

It was odd.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone.

"Meeting," Coulson said, standing in the doorway. "Now."

Darcy stood up and made her way out of the labs. Light chatter filled the air and a man and a woman walked by looking stoic and everything. The conference table now had screens—they looked like glass placemats to her. On each, Fury was talking to Loki (a.k.a. the asshole burdened with glorious purpose).

Darcy took a seat next to Cap (who was all dressed up with some dirt on his face, and damn if it didn't look sexy) and looked at her screen.

"What happened to you?" she mumbled, jabbing him lightly with her elbow.

"Long story," he replied cryptically. She wanted to retort, say something like, _I'm level seven, poster-child_, but instead clenched her jaw.

The room was silent save for the interrogation.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury told Loki.

He laughed. "Ah, yes. The mindless beast…" He kept talking, but nobody paid attention as their eyes slipped to Banner. He didn't flinch, instead meeting their gazes before looking back down.

"…you have made me _very _desperate," Fury finished.

Loki gave him some fake-sympathetic speech, declaring himself "real power" (which made Darcy kind of wish she had Romanoff skills and a knife).

"Yeah, well, let me know if real power wants a magazine or something," Fury told him, leaving the camera's view. Darcy snorted, attracting everyone's attention.

"What? That was funny. Ish. Sort of." The room remained silent.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Dr. Banner remarked (sarcastically).

"Totally," Darcy agreed, nodding along. Then she sneered. "Like hell he does."

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve commented, and like that, the conversation became serious. "So…Thor. What's his play?"

Darcy felt pretty useless at that moment. She was here to assist Jane and help Steve, but neither actually needed her.

The god pulled his hand away from his chin and turned to the soldier. "He has an army. Called the Chitauri." This name instantly brought up the image of a Chihuahua in Darcy's mind.

"The what?" she and Jane both asked.

"They're not of Asgard, nor of any world known." Thor exhaled. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In turn, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"That sounds bad," Darcy noted.

"An army. From outer space," Steve said in a great-now-we're-all-screwed tone.

Bruce removed his glasses. "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked, having not been updated.

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce told him.

"He's a friend," Thor corrected.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha said. "Along with one of ours."

Darcy looked at all these people. They all had some sort of skill—whether it be strength, a big green alter-ego, a brain, or a gun. Darcy still had to finish school and avoided the word "sweat" at all costs.

Oh shit. Now she was just throwing a pity party.

_Get over it, Lewis._

And she was either really paranoid, or Cap was interested in Romanoff. Not that she would say anything. There were bigger issues at hand than her love life, or lack thereof.

"I wonder why Loki let us take him," Steve wondered aloud. "He's not leading an army from here."

Jane, Bruce, and Darcy didn't know exactly what happened, but Loki had apparently surrendered. And Darcy Lewis was no top-secret super-spy, but she could tell when it smelled like fish.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce said, fiddling with a pen. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats."

Darcy let out a giggle, which turned into a hysterical laugh. Nobody at the table seemed remotely impressed besides Steve, who cracked a small smile.

"You can smell crazy on him," the scientist finished.

"Take care how you speak," Thor interrupted. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"How many people has he killed in the past two days?" Jane questioned.

"Eighty," Romanoff replied matter-of-factly.

Thor grimaced. "He's adopted." Darcy rolled her eyes.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce interjected. "Iridium. What do they need the iridium fo—"

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony Stark entered, Coulson right behind him. He turned to the older man and spoke in a low voice.

"Hey look, it's a billionaire," Darcy announced.

"Hi," he greeted, tossing her a smile. "It means, that the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." He walked up to Thor. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."

Thor watched, slightly disgusted, as Tony patted his arm.

"Also," he continued, "the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long as Loki wants." Tony requested a few things from the people on computers before making an announcement like he was the King of the World. "That man is playing Galaga!"

Steve turned towards the computer and the pop-culture reference.

"Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has Galaga on their computers?" Darcy questioned. "Can I sign up for a desk job?"

"I like her. What's her name?" Tony asked.

"Darcy. Future president."

"Tony. Current billionaire and superhero."

They shook hands, and Darcy almost squealed, because she was shaking Tony-goddamn- Stark's hand.

"As I was saying, the rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily…only major component he still needs is a power source…of high energy density. Something to…" he paused, "…kickstart the cube."

Hill narrowed her eyes at him. "When did you become an expert in thermo-nuclear astrophysics?"

"Last night," he returned matter-of-factly. Hill tilted her head to the side. "The packet? Selvig's notes. The extraction theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"I assisted writing most of those notes," Jane mumbled.

"Yeah, and I most likely delivered Selvig and Jane the coffee needed to produce them," Darcy argued.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked Tony.

Bruce, who was pacing, answered. "He'd have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the barrier."

"Well that's good, right? I don't know a ton about science, but I'm pretty sure that a hundred and twenty million of anything is a lot," Darcy offered.

"Right, but if he found the power needed, he could definitely break that," Tony said.

"Does that power even exist?" Darcy asked again. "I mean," she snorted, "besides Mr. 'Real Power' over there?" She jabbed her thumb at the screen for emphasis.

"It does," Bruce stated. "It's possible to be obtained."

Tony, Jane, and Bruce started a back-and-forth that was more like brainstorming that fighting.

"Finally. People who speak English." He gestured to Jane and Bruce, both of whom began to look smug. They all shook hands. "It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of how you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster. And to you, Dr. Foster. The fact that you studied portals to other worlds with machines made of duct tape is impressive. I also read the reports on how your intern Tased Thor."

Bruce and Jane nodded, not knowing quite what to say. "Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," Fury interrupted. "I was hoping you might join him and Dr. Foster."

"What about that stick of his? It may be magical but it works a lot like a HYDRA weapon," Steve noted.

"I don't know about that. But it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki turned two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor inquired, looking like a lost puppy. "I do not underst—"

"I do," Cap declared proudly. Tony rolled his eyes, Jane stared blankly at him, and Banner looked down. Darcy giggled a little. "I understood that reference," he clarified.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Then: "Should we play, Doctors?" and then the three geniuses went off to the labs.

Once they were gone, Darcy noticed a blond agent close his charts, opening up Galaga again.

"Miss Lewis!" Fury barked and Darcy turned around. "Due to the circumstances, you will need to learn how to operate a gun."

"Oh _hell_ no!" she replied immediately. "Sir."

"Miss Lewis—"

"My Taser works just fine."

"Miss Lewis!"

"Oh, no. No. You take my iPod, you drag me onto whatever the hell this thing is, you uproot my life, and because of all the things you've done to me, I now have to kill people?"

Agents were staring. Darcy didn't care.

"No. I refuse."

Technically, S.H.I.E.L.D. could force her to learn to shoot, but Fury saw the desperation in her eyes, and was really not up for arguing with Darcy (though no one ever was, she was her high school's debate champion) resulting in him dropping the subject and leaving.

She turned to Steve. "Wanna go get lunch?"

He nodded. "I could eat."

"Mind if I join you?" Romanoff asked.

Darcy really did, mostly because she was almost certain that she could go down as long as the red-head had a spoon. However, she shut her mouth and answered "Sure," before getting in the elevator.

It wasn't crowded. Most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. employees ate either freakishly early or freakishly late.

The food was okay. Not as bad as high-school, but not as good as the Eighth Street Diner.

Natasha ate the chicken Caesar, Steve had a lot of everything, and Darcy grabbed a tuna sandwich.

"So, how'd you get the chance to work with Foster?" Romanoff asked.

"Before I answer that question, can I ask you what your first name is? Or is that classified?"

"Natasha. Or Natalia. Depends."

"Okay. Coolio. And I was the only applicant."

"You majored in science?"

"Poli-sci. My roommate was a bitch, I needed credits, etcetera."

"Politics?" Steve spoke up.

"Yup. I loved most of it."

"I never went to college," Steve said.

Darcy scoffed. "Yeah, but you became a 1940s war hero that stopped Nazis from killing everyone. I'm pretty sure that makes up for your lack of degree."

"Steve Rogers, you are needed in the laboratories," the PA said.

He quietly excused himself from the table. Natasha leaned closer to Darcy. "You seem nervous."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "I'm sitting across from an assassin in a cafeteria. It's a little odd."

"Hmm." Suddenly, a sound filtered through her earpiece. "I must go interrogate the prisoner now. It's been a pleasure, Miss Lewis."

"Yeah. You too."

Once the spy had left, Darcy pulled out her iPod, plugged her music in for some quality time with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and finished her meal.

* * *

Darcy entered the lab to find Jane, Bruce, and Tony huddled before a glass screen. "What's happening?"

Jane waved her over. She squeezed between Tony and Jane, watching Natasha interrogate Loki.

"You pretend—" Loki was saying, before the screen went blank and "ACCESS DENIED" flashed before their eyes.

This could be a glitch. Or—

VIRUS DETECTED

Or they could be fucked.

"What are you doing, Stark?" Fury asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Jane told him all about the location program they were using, about its accuracy, until PHASE 2 popped up in more red letters.

"What exactly is Phase Two?" Tony asked.

"Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D. using the cube to make weapons," Steve announced, plopping a gun on the table. "Sorry. Computer was running a little slow for me."

Fury began explaining himself until Tony cut him off. "I'm sorry, Nick. What? Were you lying?"

He presented an image of a gun.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

Bruce laughed. "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"He's manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"What I want to know, is why S.H.I.E.L.D. is building weapons of mass destruction."

Fury sighed. "Because of him." He pointed to Thor, and all Darcy could think was _Very mature_.

"_Me?_" Thor asked in disbelief.

"Last year, due to Thor's actions, an entire town was blown to pieces. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outdone."

It was true. She had been there.

"Our people mean nothing but peace with your planet," Thor defended.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury pointed out. "And, you're not the only threat. The world is full of people that can't be controlled."

"Like you control the cube?" Steve asked.

And then it all went to hell. People were tossing insults back and forth, arguing. Thor made some joke about how catty people were, earning him a jab in the ribs from Darcy. It didn't leave a mark, but it still satisfied her.

Jane was yelling, Fury was trying to re-gain control, and Darcy noticed Loki's spear thingy getting sparkly.

Steve and Tony were facing off until Banner interrupted.

Then he was talking and everyone was listening, and when he finished, the machine went off.

"We got it."

Banner stormed past Darcy, followed by Romanoff.

He sat at one of the computers, eyes widening at the screen. "Oh my God."

And then there was a boom. The floor collapsed beneath them, Thor reaching for Jane and holding her tight.

Darcy flew down a few decks with Natasha and Bruce, before a huge pipe landed atop her wrist, pinning her down.

"Oh, _fuck_."

* * *

**A/N: Review to find out what happens after my attempted cliffhanger. **


	4. Wrath

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13 (language!)

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity and I will show you memory" either.

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

* * *

**A/N: I'm gonna say it—I'm not good at writing action scenes, and the fact that the first one was written at two a.m. probably isn't helping things, but I tried. **

**Second "action scene"…well…let's just say that you can't see a lot from that high up.**

* * *

_"__Delicate in every way but one (the swordplay)  
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)  
Chance is the only game I play with, baby,"_

-Lorde, "Glory and Gore"

Chapter Four

~Wrath~

A snap pushed through her bone, and Darcy knew her wrist was broken. Natasha's leg had also been trapped under the pipe, but her ankle seemed to be protected by her boots.

"Okay," Romanoff told whoever was on the line of her comms device.

Bruce had started to turn a lovely shade of green, and Darcy really regretted not taking Fury up on his offer to shoot.

Natasha looked at Bruce, a little worried, and mumbled, "We're okay, right?" Bruce struggled, clenching his hands in fists and keeping his eyes shut. "Bruce, you gotta fight it. It's just what Loki wants."

She turned to Darcy briefly, motioning for her to set her wrist free. Quietly, she began to work on doing so.

"You're gonna be okay. Listen to me."

Three guards jogged up with guns, but the redhead waved them away (they gladly fled).

"You're gonna be okay. I swear, on my _life_, that I will get you out of this. You will walk away and never have to—"

"Your life?" Bruce roared, and Darcy nearly peed her big-girl panties, finally tugging her wrist free.

Bruce arched his back and his shirt split. Green dominated his skin (and the irises of his eyes, for that matter), and he roared. Suddenly, he went lurching towards the right, falling off the platform and allowing Natasha to get free.

The Hulk/Bruce turned, looking with some sort of desperateness in his eyes, before the brown or hazel or _whatever _disappeared and was replaced by green.

So much green.

The Hulk went barreling in the other direction and the two women made a break for it. Darcy was already halfway up the stairs when he noticed, turning around and glaring.

"Oh, _fuck_," Darcy repeated.

"Run!" Natasha ordered, and she complied, sprinting up the stairs, barely missing where it collapsed. The other lady was doing some fancy gymnastics show, climbing the pipes and flipping as the Hulk swiped his _ginormous _hands around.

They rounded a corner and hid there, Natasha drawing a gun and handing another to Darcy. "You've seen movies?"

"Yeah."

"This is sort of the same. Just pull the trigger and brace yourself. Try to only use your good hand."

Another roar echoed throughout the area and Natasha shot a pipe on the ceiling, releasing some sort of mist.

And for the second time in ten minutes, Natasha told Darcy to run.

She did, without hesitation. The organ in her chest thudded quickly, because Death ought to be pissed. There was no way she could do this. There was no way she could survive.

Ear-piercing bellows shoved their way into her soul, and she knew that she would be having nightmares. Blood gushed through the vein in her wrist, swelling it to twice its normal size.

Darcy was terrified.

So damn terrified.

"Keep going!"

Her lungs demanded more oxygen, her body wanted her to stop. In the back of her mind, she knew that she would eventually. She couldn't run forever.

There was a grunt and Darcy resisted the urge to look back. Natasha would be fine.

But then the thudding footsteps stopped and she forced herself to turn around. Natasha was lying on the floor, propped up against a metal container with the Hulk about to backhand her.

And then Thor burst through the wall, crushing Hulk.

"Run!" he hollered, and she picked up Natasha with her good arm.

"Where do we go?"

"Medical. And I can walk," she said, pulling away.

"Don't be dumb. Yeah, you can walk, but if it's easier to lean on me then don't do it the hard way for funzies or crap."

They were almost to medical when Natasha saw Barton. "Head down this hall and make a right. I have to finish something."

And then she did a flip and climbed into the rafters like she hadn't just cracked a few ribs.

As soon as Darcy made it into that sterile room with the nurses running around frantically, she passed out.

* * *

Bright light.

Aw, damn. She _knew_ she was going to die.

But then, her eyes adjusted and she peered up at a face. "Are you an angel?"

She reached out, poking said face in the eye. "Quit that, Darcy."

Not an angel. Just Jane. "What happened?" she rasped and Jane forced a bottle of water on her lips.

"We had an attack. Thor and Dr. Banner are gone, Barton's back, Coulson's dead."

"What?" Darcy never really respected Coulson as much as she probably should've, but the guy saved lives, for gods' sake.

"He went to go put Loki back in his cell and then he got…stabbed."

"Oh God."

"Yeah."

"Son of a _bitch!_ Who in the fucking world does he think he is?"

Darcy tried to sit up, but Jane pushed her back down. "Your wrist was almost shattered. It's broken in five places."

"That godly piece of sh—" Darcy cut herself off. "How many people…bit the dust?"

"Almost three-hundred," Jane answered sadly.

"Can I get up?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah. Hold on." Jane unclipped some tubes from Darcy's arm, allowing her to move freely (save for her wrist). "You had a panic attack and hyperventilated."

"How're Steve and Romanoff?" Darcy asked.

"Romanoff's okay. She seems better now that Barton's here."

"What about Steve?"

"He's…a little stressed."

"That's understandable," Darcy stated with a shrug.

"There's a giant hole in the Helicarrier."

"That's…also understandable."

They stepped into the hallway and began walking to their room.

* * *

"Yo, Cap! Where're you going?" Darcy yelled, as Steve, Natasha, and Barton marched down the hall, looking all glorious and shit.

"Get Jane," he answered. "Meet me by the jets."

"What's happening?" she asked.

"We're fighting a war," he replied.

As soon as they were gone, Darcy made a face. "What the hell?"

She gathered Jane, Jane's notes, her Taser, and her glasses before running to the jets where Steve was waiting.

"Get in. Tony's going to get you to the tower, you're working on the reversal," he said.

They flew the jet, landing it on the roof of a building near Stark Tower.

An older man stood on the terrace and it took a moment for Darcy to realize it was Erik.

"I'll distract him, you get to one of the labs. The glass is bulletproof. You should be safe." Tony directed and the two women nodded. Then, he turned to the scientist. "Shut it down, Selvig."

Darcy snaked her fingers around Jane's waist, tugging her along behind. "It's too late!" she heard Erik yell proudly before they got into the building.

"What floor are the labs on?" Jane yelled.

"One-hundred and thirty," a disembodied voice answered. "Three floors up."

"Ah!" Darcy jumped, looking for the source of the noise. "Never mind. Let's go."

The two women got into the elevator and slammed the buttons anxiously.

They were spit into a high-end workspace and Jane began looking around, reorganizing stuff to make it work for her.

"Darcy, get me a microscope."

Her assistant opened several cabinets before finding one, giving it to Jane. "Here."

Jane began to work.

A boom shook the building and Darcy dashed over to the window. "Holy shit!"

Tony was diving towards the ground, perfectly poised to become New York's richest pancake. "Darcy! You need to get me my notebook," Jane called.

She snatched the tattered binder from one counter and gave it to Jane. When she had gotten back to the window, Stark was flying in the suit and…_things_ were zipping around the sky, like giant gray lizards.

"Oh crap."

The next few minutes were spent between "Darcy, _this_," and "Darcy, _that_," as well as looking out the window at the things flying by.

"Jane, I think Erik made the portal work!" the brunette called.

Jane came running over, looking as a lizard thing zoomed by. "Oh my God."

"Hey look! Your boyfriend's here."

"Where?" Jane looked out the window at Thor. "Good. He can stall."

Darcy watched as Thor smashed Mew-Mew around, and then "Stark" tower became "Star" tower.

She could barely make out figures of people running, panicked, through the streets. Police cars barreled through the roads in an attempt to calm the population of Manhattan. It wasn't working too well.

A jet (the one holding Barton, Romanoff, and Steve, Darcy realized) flew by the window, hovering in the air. It began to fire a crazy amount of bullets until Loki practically blew its wing off.

"Dammit," Darcy whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the scene playing out before her.

The jet turned to avoid hitting people before making a far-from-graceful landing, skidding to a stop inches from an office building.

Everyone in the city seemed to stop at one moment to look up at the sky.

"What's happening?" Darcy wondered aloud.

And then, a giant mechanical lizard flew past Darcy's face, casting a shadow over the lab, and she screamed. "What the _fuck _was that?"

Jane stopped working too so that she could see the chaos taking place just inches away with nothing but bulletproof glass between them. "It's a ship," Jane answered. "They have ships."

"That's freaking-fantastic," Darcy retorted. She headed back over to the table where Jane was working.

"I need you to put a drop of these—" Jane pointed to a group of samples, "—onto each slide."

Darcy began to work, taking the dropper and squeezing out a drop onto the microscope slides. The activity was quiet compared to the outside world.

Once she was done, Darcy headed back to the window where the Hulk was smashing, Thor was thundering, and everyone else was doing their thing.

It was terrifying how unafraid she was. Darcy should've been horrified—having a panic attack. Instead, she watched calmly as the city fell.

A shadow overcame the area as the sky turned black. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed (in that order, weirdly enough).

"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Darcy asked, having found a manual explaining what the voice was.

"Yes, Miss Lewis?"

"What's happening?"

"It would appear that Agent Romanoff is riding a U.F.O."

"U.F.O.?"

"Unidentified flying—"

"Right. Sorry."

All of a sudden, Natasha flipped onto the roof at the same moment Jane yelled, "I got it!" It was quite the _Eureka!_ moment.

Jane ran out of the lab and onto the terrace. "Jane! Where the hell are you going?" Darcy shrieked, chasing after the slightly mad scientist.

"Erik always adds a safety switch to his experiments in case things go awry."

Darcy looked at the passed out gentleman.

"It's the scepter. Loki's scepter. We have to get it."

Natasha hopped down and grabbed the stick before climbing back over.

"This is the only thing that can penetrate the energy."

"How?"

"It is pure energy." Romanoff held up the spear. "Slowly," Jane instructed.

The Black Widow listened, easing the scepter into the area surrounding the Tesseract. "I can close it!" she announced to her teammates. "Anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

Suddenly, Iron Man flew by with a missile in his hand. He flew up towards the portal. "Holy _shit!_" Darcy yelled. "What the hell is he doing?"

He flew up, up, up, and then he was gone.

Aliens around them dropped.

"C'mon, Stark," Natasha muttered. When she couldn't wait any longer, she drove the spear into the Tesseract, hoping that Tony would drop out.

Darcy waited.

And then, he did.

"He's not slowing down," Jane murmured. "He's going to—"

She stopped herself as the Hulk threw his giant green body to protect him in an odd hug. They crashed to the ground and rolled over. "Let's go," Romanoff commanded.

Ambulances filled what was left of the streets. All Darcy could hear as the trio climbed over rubble was sirens. Loud, screeching horns that raced to help.

_Wake up_, Darcy thought to herself as she stared at the Avengers. _Wake the hell up, Stark. _

Hulk must have agreed with her because he roared in an alarming wake-up call. The sleeping beauty himself sputtered, opening his eyes. "What the hell?" Darcy tilted her head back in relief. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

Darcy jokingly blew him a kiss.

"We won," Steve said, out of breath.

"Congrats, Cap'n Muscles," Darcy said, nudging him a little.

"Alright. Hey! Everybody, good job, guys," Stark said in a weak attempt at celebration. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day." He sat up a little. "Have you ever tried shawarma?" Steve ducked his head in amusement. "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I wanna try it."

Thor looked around. "We're not finished yet."

Steve, Tony, Jane, and Barton all gave him _seriously?_ looks.

"Then shawarma afterward," Tony settled.

* * *

Darcy turned out not to really like shawarma. She preferred pizza or burgers, but then again, she wasn't the one to fly into space and stop Manhattan from becoming a pile of debris, so she didn't complain.

"I've been thinking about turning Stark tower into Avengers tower," Tony announced. "Jane can come, her annoying little assistant too. I'm thinking of making it a clubhouse." He took a bite of the food, ignoring Darcy's glare. "I also need a new assistant, seeing as the last one turned out to be an assassin. So, Darcy. You down?"

Darcy was actually pretty impressed by the amount of floor she covered with her sputtered answer. "What?"

"You," he pointed to her, "be my," he pointed to himself, "assistant. Get it?"

"I have a job," she answered.

"No you don't," Stark replied. "Since Jane is moving into the tower—"

"No!" Jane interrupted.

"—she'll have assistants. With big fancy degrees and stuff. You will be my assistant."

"Hold it, buster," Darcy butted in.

Tony slid a napkin with a very pretty number scrawled on it across the table.

"I'm in," Darcy answered immediately. "When do I start?"

* * *

**A/N: So so so sorry that this took so long! Well, I got it up now. Thank you to everyone that left suggestions last chapter, and remember that reviews are what keep me writing. **

**On a completely different note, this story will be fairly short (think eight chapters, twenty-thousand words) but I do have a couple sequels (which should be much longer) planned out. I'll be announcing their names soon. **

**Again, remember to review!**


	5. Droplet

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13 (language!)

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity and I will show you memory" either.

Warning: Mature language

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

**A/N: In my universe, civilians know that New York was saved by "The Avengers" but they only know their codenames. I don't think that their real names would be broadcasted.**

Chapter Five

~Droplet~

Phil Coulson's funeral was a quiet affair. Fury, Hill, the Avengers, Jane, Darcy, a woman named Audrey (supposedly his significant other), a woman referred to as "May" and a few other agents were the only to attend.

In order to protect S.H.I.E.L.D. and all, everyone wore normal clothing (Natasha and Barton looked extremely odd without their suits on) and refrained from carrying weapons.

Darcy cried, not as much as Barton and not as little as "May," but she did cry.

"Phil Coulson was not only one of my best workers," Fury began, "but he was a friend."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, with every word drawing tears from the people around him.

"His cellist," Tony marveled from a few feet away. Darcy wiped her eyes a little.

"What?"

"Audrey Nathan. He always talked about having a cellist in Portland…"

"Oh," Darcy answered, truly not knowing how to reply. "She's pretty," she said dumbly.

Pepper was talking to said cellist, a hand on her back.

Darcy decided to talk to her. "Audrey?" She turned around. "Um, hi. I'm Darcy Lewis." Then, she realized that he most likely never mentioned her, because why would he? "Coulson, er, _Phil_, confiscated my iPod for research purposes in New Mexico. I've been working with one of his scientists." Um, wow, she sounded irrelevant. "Sorry if that's kind of pointless sounding. I uh, just wanted to offer my condolences." _Smooth, Lewis. _

"Hi," Audrey greeted, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry, he never mentioned you."

Darcy sighed. "Yeah, I figured. I'm so sorry for your loss." Audrey was unable to reply as tears welled in her eyes. "He was a good man."

"We—" she hiccupped, "—we—we were planning," she hiccupped again, "—a t-trip. To Ta-Tahiti."

This made Darcy even _more _sad. Two seats on a plane would be left empty, the hotel room would remain vacant. And then the lady began tearing up again.

"I'm sorry." She offered a humorless laugh. "You'll have to excuse me." After a few minutes of quiet, she spoke again. "I can't believe he's gone. I can't believe that any of this happened."

"It's crazy," Darcy agreed. "Crazy."

(|)(|)(|)

Later, when New York had been rebuilt, Darcy found herself listening to Pepper explain exactly what she was supposed to do.

"You handle making sure that he eats and sleeps—not that different from Jane, but the assistants that have worked with him quit. Make sure that anything 'scandalous' stays out of the paper and tabloids." Pepper said. Darcy followed her around the newly renovated tower as she pointed. "Happy will be around to take care of you guys. I also understand that you're helping Steve with some stuff?"

Darcy nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, since he's moving into the tower, you should be fine with that. How long are you working with him?"

Darcy shrugged, unsure. "I…I'm not sure. I don't really think I'm just gonna stop hanging out with him."

"Hanging out?"

"Well it's not like I give him a textbook and exams every Friday. I take him around the city. We eat, we go see movies, etc."

Pepper nodded. "Okay. Right. Let's go over the layout again. First ten floors?"

"Shops, delis, cafés."

"Floors eleven through sixty?"

"Offices. First there's accounting, then human resources, then there are a mixture of a bunch of different types of workers."

"And what about…sixty to seventy?"

"All places where he holds events."

"Seventy to…eighty-nine?"

"Private theater, gym, indoor pool, indoor amenities."

"What about the ninetieth floor?"

"Kitchen and dining."

"Ninety one to ninety five."

"Those are various dining areas he eats at depending on his mood."

"Ninety six-one hundred and twenty?"

"Residential. Ninety six is for Jane. Ninety seven is for Thor although those two floors will likely merge at some point. Ninety eight is you and him. So is ninety nine and one-hundred. One hundred-through one hundred and five are all one giant floor for Bruce so that if he…you know, changes, he has a place to play. I think that a hundred and six through a hundred and ten are all private training spaces for each Avenger. Ranges, etc. And uh…hmm…then a hundred and eleven is Cap, hundred and twelve is me. Then a hundred and thirteen to hundred seventeen are guest rooms, hundred and eighteen is Natasha, and a hundred and nineteen is Clint. One twenty is the lounge and the rest are labs."

Pepper smiled at her. "Perfect. You should be fine."

They got into the elevator and headed down towards the lobby. Once they arrived, they saw a whole line of moving trucks heading down to the parking garage. "Is that my stuff?" Darcy asked as a burly woman took a box of CDs that looked familiar into the elevator.

"Tony took the liberty of moving everyone," Pepper sighed apologetically. "Sorry."

"That bastard," Darcy muttered. "What about my bras?"

"Steve handled those."

"What?" she asked, utterly mortified. "Why?"

"Tony thought you two were…"

Darcy realized what she was implying and began shaking her head. "No. No, we're not together. Your genius boyfriend's an idiot, though."

"Most of the time." The blond shrugged. "Though he does have his moments."

Darcy frowned. "I guess."

They both stared at the people unpacking the trucks until Pepper blinked out of her daze. "Want to head to your room? They're beginning to send up your stuff."

Darcy took one last look at the truck. "Yeah. Sure."

(|)(|)(|)

Most of her belongings were neatly put away (though it wouldn't remain like that for long) when there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in!" she shouted.

Steve eased the door open, holding a box. "Here are your…uh…" He trailed off, ears turning an incredibly adorable shade of red.

"I got it. Thanks."

Darcy got up from her bed to take the box from him and then put it on top of her dresser. "So you'll be living here now."

Darcy nodded solemnly. "I will."

"That's…that's great, Darce."

"Darce?"

Steve colored again.

"Don't worry, man. It's cute."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Yeah! I mean, nobody's ever called me that before. It's unique."

Taking a step towards him, she looked him in the eye. Somehow, she ended up inches from his face, looking up into those blue eyes. "Darce," Steve whispered.

Darcy wasn't entirely sure who initiated the kiss. It was slow, drawn out, his lips against hers and _man_ they were soft. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as her hand tangled through his hair.

Her chest was pressed against his, her lips too, and it just felt so _right_.

Until: "Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark is approaching." _Fuck you, J.A.R.V.I.S._

The couple jumped apart and looked at each other. Straightening out her shirt with one hand, Darcy cleaned up his mussed hair and wiped her lipstick off his mouth.

"Capsicle!" Tony called. "My designer wants to go over paint with you again."

Steve rolled his eyes (rather uncharacteristically) as the billionaire left the room.

He turned to Darcy. "I'm so sorry. That was—"

Darcy jumped in. "Not your fault. I mean, I kissed you back, didn't I?"

Steve considered this. "I guess so."

"You're a good kisser," Darcy blurted suddenly before closing her eyes. She opened one, grimacing as if he were going to hit her.

Steve ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Thanks." He blew out a breath. "I should go."

Darcy weakly attempted to hide her disappointment. "Right. Of course. Go ahead."

He did.

Oh god.

What had she done?

(|)(|)(|)

Since Steve was avoiding her, Darcy ate most meals with Jane and Thor. Occasionally, she headed out to go to events with Tony, which (_squee_) meant new dresses and shoes and one time even Natasha (since the Hulk incident, the redhead gained some respect for the younger-woman).

Life was pretty average without Steve needing explanation so she took it upon herself to introduce Thor to FaceBook. And maybe email.

"You can add a picture by clicking here," Darcy explained, demonstrating the movement with her mouse. "See?"

"So this Book of Faces is not actually a book?" Thor asked, befuddled.

"Nope. It's a webpage."

One day in her ordinary life (about three weeks after the kiss), Darcy went walking around New York, somehow ending up in front of an animal shelter.

Her feet carried her forward, past the energetic puppies and kittens that were sure to be adopted. Instead, she found herself staring at a monstrous, ninety pound pit-bull that was playing with a cat.

"That's Ninja," an African-American volunteer said. "The cat is Catniss."

With a snort, Darcy answered, "Really?"

The girl (who was pretty young. High school, maybe,) answered. "Yep. Ninja's a pit-bull/bulldog mix. She's been here for three years."

"You keep them that long?"

"We're no-kill." She seemed proud and hey, Darcy would be too if she saved the lives of those who couldn't protect themselves and all that.

"That's…really awesome. What about Catniss?"

"She was hit by a bus."

That explained the missing ear and flattened tail. "Oh my god."

"Yeah. She had to have surgery."

"Wow. So they don't…kill each other?" Dramatically, she gestured to the opposites sitting in the kennel.

"Nope."

"That's pretty cool."

"Very. Are you interested?"

"Yeah."

"They need a lot of space."

Darcy laughed. "I have tons of that. Who else has been here a long time?"

The volunteer smiled. "Well, there's Polka and Dot." She pointed to two dogs—a Lab and a Dalmatian. "They were living together in a dump. And then there's Regina."

An impossibly fat cat slinked over from one side of the kennel, plopping down and licking itself. "Shit."

The volunteer laughed. "Her owner was an old woman who kept forgetting whether or not she fed her yet. When she passed, they had her shipped here."

"Wow. I'll take them all," she decided.

"All of them?"

Darcy looked at the misfit animals. "All of them," she confirmed.

"We'll waive the fee. Go to the front desk and do some paperwork, I'll have them put into carriers. You get free food bags for all five pets plus collars and leashes. If you need, I'll get you some free dog-tags too."

After the paperwork was done and Darcy had called for one of Tony's cars, they were on their way home.

"Tony may kill you," Happy informed her.

"I'll chance it," the brunette replied, stroking Regina's back.

She and Happy carried all the animals into the elevator. Polka and Dot were barking at each other and Ninja didn't seem to appreciate the small space.

The instant that Darcy reached the lounge, she released the animals. Clint (who, for an assassin, seemed to be pretty laid back) was instantly barricaded by her new companions. He drew a gun and pointed it at Regina, who sat at his feet. "What. The. Hell."

"Put the gun away!" Darcy hissed. The gray cat yawned and lay on her back, waiting for someone to rub her belly. "That's Regina."

"What about the others?"

"The big one is Ninja."

Clint barked out a deep laugh at that one.

"The other cat is Catniss. You two are perfect for each other," Darcy snarked. "The Lab is Polka. The Dalmatian is Dot."

"Huh. Why?" Clint asked.

"Because she's a Dalmatian and she has spots."

"No. I mean, why did you adopt five animals all of a sudden?"

"I felt like it. It's better than a tattoo."

The elevator doors opened and Ninja began to bark. It was surprisingly high-pitched. Tony tripped over himself (and Regina).

"What the fuck is happening?" he asked. Ninja lunged before anyone could react and tackled Tony to the floor, licking his face.

Whipping out her phone, Darcy snapped a few pictures of Tony Stark lying on the floor with a giant dog licking his face. Totally going on the Book of Faces.

Next, Thor entered. He grinned at the animals. "Is this some sort of hunting game?"

He summoned Mew-Mew from the coffee table.

"Stop!" Darcy shrieked. "These are my pets, not things for you to smash, you godly idiot!"

"What's happening?" Bruce asked, entering from the staircase. Dot slinked over to him. "Hey, buddy. Who's dog are you?"

"Mine," Darcy replied proudly.

Natasha stepped into the lounge with a bottle of water in hand and her combat gear still on. "Cute," she said simply. She picked Catniss up and brought her to her face. Darcy's jaw fell to the floor. "What?" Natasha asked the gawking faces.

"You don't show that much affection to anyone. Even Clint," Darcy uttered dumbly. The woman just smiled and put the cat down.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Tony asked. "Like _Kill Bill?_"

"I'm in," Darcy answered, already seating herself on the couch. A trail of living things followed behind her and Ninja (oh gosh) spread himself across her lap and almost crushed her thighs.

Steve was on a mission somewhere (Korea?) and Darcy could feel the fact that he wasn't there.

First, she was angry with him for treating her so badly. Darcy expected more from him. Second, she was mad at herself for being so vulnerable.

The corner of the couch where he sat was empty and nobody bothered to fill it (actually, Polka and Dot did, quite happily, but still).

(|)(|)(|)

The Monday after, Steve came back from his mission.

Darcy found him petting Ninja when she came back from a ball with Tony. Her dress was very fancy (it was with the incredibly rich people rather than the somewhat rich) and the entire top was made of feathers. Thank God it was a durable dress, because if it wasn't, she would've flashed several governors.

"Goddamn _feathers_," she muttered, stumbling over her heels to get into the elevator.

The doors slid open to reveal a worn-out looking Steve Rogers. He had his hands behind her dog's ear and his face was cut.

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?"

He looked less alert than usual, maybe a little startled. "I'm fine. Just sore. It'll all be healed in the morning." He looked her up and down briefly. "You look nice."

He stood up and looked at her. Ninja began to whine.

"Why thank you, Captain."

She did a little twirl (just for show), and it was so _her_. It was full of life and beauty but it was still honest. It wasn't like those girls that draped themselves over him in hopes that he expected nothing more than boobs. It was real. It was Darcy.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "About running out."

She shrugged. "It's okay." But it wasn't, really.

"It's not. You deserve to be treated better."

"Relax. I've seen worse," she assured him. Much worse.

"Darcy…" Steve began.

"You can't protect me from everything."

"I know."

"I can take care of myself."

He smiled. "Believe me, I know."

"I—"

This time, she was positive that Steve had kissed her. She shut her eyes and laced her fingers around the back of her neck as his hands slipped around her waist, strong and safe.

"Ah-_hem_."

The elevator doors had opened to reveal Clint and Tony, both of whom were smirking. Steve blushed and Darcy avoided eye-contact.

"What was _that?"_ Tony asked.

"Shut up," Darcy answered. Ninja howled.

"You think they're what?" Tony mocked, cupping his ear for the dog. "Yeah, me too."

"You talk to dogs now too?" Clint snarked. Tony rolled his eyes.

"I do."

The doors for Darcy opened and she stepped out. "Uh, bye, Steve. Fuck you, Tony."

As soon as she got past her door, she took off the dress. That dumb dress.

**A/N: I couldn't get this chapter to go the way I wanted, so I threw in a bunch of animals and made it a filler. Well, of course, there was the kiss and all...anyways, I hope that you leave a review on the way out. I'll try and update faster next time. **


	6. Paint

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13 (language!)

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity and I will show you memory" either.

Warning: Mature language

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

**A/N: This is a short chapter that I got finished and wanted to post right away. So again, it's short. Really short. And also imperfect. **

**In this chapter, you'll be introduced to the Bruce Banner love interest, who is not Betty Ross. I almost put her in, but then I had one of those **_**Eureka! **_**moments that involved a different storyline for her that I'm super super excited about.**

_"__Three guns and one goes off  
One's empty, one's not quick enough  
One burn, one red, one green  
Search the graves while the camera spins,"_

-Alt-J, "Tessellate"

Chapter Six

~Paint~

"I brought coffee," Darcy declared.

"Corner desk," Tony answered, screwdriver clenched between his teeth. Darcy stepped in his way.

"Nuh-uh-uh," she scolded, wagging her finger. "What do you say?"

"Are you serious?" Tony asked.

"Wrong. Go again."

"Thank you," he grumbled. Darcy patted his head.

"Good boy. I'll be checking on you every half-hour. You have meetings from three to six. And you have to wear something besides…" she gestured to his tank top and jeans, "…that."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"No _way_, buddy. If I have to wear a blouse that _barely_ covers my chest, you're changing too."

With a huff, she turned on her heel and left the lab. Stark.

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

After a long string of insanely boring meetings, Darcy was back in her room wanting nothing more than a shower. Apparently, that was too much to ask. Because as soon as she had stripped naked and started running the water, an alarm went off in her room.

She quickly threw her clothes back on, grabbing a pair of shoes on the way. "What's going on?" she asked Barton, who was collecting various arrows from random hiding places.

"Someone planted a bomb in the human resources department; the whole place is on fire."

"What?" Darcy squeaked.

"I need you to get into one of the labs and lock the doors. Stay there and keep Jane safe. If anyone comes up there…" he trailed off, handing her a Taser that Tony designed specifically for her, "use this."

"Okay." He left and she picked up one of the cats. "Okay." After a few moments of debating, she decided to try one of the tricks that Clint taught the dogs. "Assemble!" she hollered, and the animals came running. "Cool." Unfortunately, she only had a little bit of time to bask in the glory of how amazing that was as the alarm was hurting her ears.

The closest lab belonged to Bruce, who was probably off fighting somewhere.

"Jane!" Darcy called. The brunette spent a lot of her time in this room combining forces with Bruce. "Ja-_ane!_"

"Darcy!" the brunette hollered, beginning to worry.

"Jane! Where are you?"

"I'm under the table."

"Why?"

She popped back up. "I dropped my pen."

Dot, who had taken a liking to her, jumped up, nearly killing some of Tony's million-dollar equipment.

"Hi…" Jane said, rubbing the dog's chest. "So I guess we're stowing away here, huh?"

"I guess," Darcy answered, shrugging.

"Good thing I have pop-tarts."

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

J.A.R.V.I.S. allowed for frequent updating on the battle and even live footage (that is, until the cameras were destroyed).

New York was under attack by robots. Of _course _it was. A whole other team of superheroes working with S.H.I.E.L.D. had been called in to assist with the fighting. There were four of them—a tall man on fire, a giant orange monster, a human rubber band, and a blond woman emitting random shields of energy.

Darcy took out her phone to look them up (because if they had matching uniforms, they _had _to have some sort of news article. Rumor had it the Avengers were getting a movie) and found that they called themselves 'The Fantastic 4.' Points for alliteration, seriously.

The blond, Sue Storm, was married to the Rubber Band, Reed Richards, the colleague of Ben Grimm, and the sister to Johnny Storm (who, when not on fire, looked surprisingly similar to Steve). They saved London once.

A robot flew into the window and Darcy expected it to crack, but a wiper simply peeled it off and allowed it to crash to the floor.

Waiting was boring. Watching the battle was boring. Darcy wanted to take action.

But, seeing as the only thing she was armed with was a Taser, she couldn't exactly do that.

"Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"Yes, Miss Lewis?"

"Is there any way that Jane and I could help?"

"I have direct orders to keep you in here, Miss Lewis."

Just then, Bruce (in his green form) flew through the window and stood up proudly, roaring as he ripped a robot's head from its body.

Darcy pulled a shard of glass from her arm, looking around for something to wrap it with.

Meanwhile, the Hulk had smashed through the door and stormed down the hallway.

"That's not good," Jane said. "I have a serum, but it—it's incomplete. He could hurt someone if he's in the building." She frantically searched for something to use, flipping over papers as the window slowly rebuilt itself (it was Stark, what did you expect?).

"I have a Taser."

Jane looked up. "Let me see it."

Darcy handed it to her and she ran around, collecting a microscope and a vial with a purpley substance inside.

Quickly and surely, Jane began taking apart the Taser, pouring things here and cutting wires there. Finally, she had duct taped it back together to make…something. "Chances are, Hulk is being chased by one of the robots. I need you to find one and taze it. I can get information about who created them and why they're here."

In a rush of bravery (or stupidity), Darcy had grabbed the Taser, taken off her glasses, and headed down the hall. There was a gaping hole in the human resources department's wall, and Darcy headed there, assuming that something would be there.

She was right.

A giant, knife wielding robot charged and she stepped out of the way just before it plucked her eye out. God, she was so not fit for this.

"Ah!" she shrieked as it smashed the floor a few inches away from her.

_One. _

It threw an office chair at her.

_Two._

She flicked her weapon of choice on.

_Three_.

She jabbed at it and it stopped, twitching on the floor beneath her. In a fit of glory, she threw a letter opener from a nearby desk at it and his arm fell off.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, doing what she believed to be a well-deserved fist pump.

But then, the sparks stopped flying as gears began whirring, and she stopped mid-happy dance.

It was regenerating, growing before her eyes, and in the place of the missing arm, two more had grown. Resistance was futile, Darcy knew. This was the end. It was all over for her before it really even started. It was—

Banging on an invisible wall.

"Run!" Sue Storm yelled. Darcy scrambled for the elevator as the blonde held him off.

"Thank you," Darcy yelled.

The woman nodded before the doors closed, allowing Darcy to catch her breath. As soon as they opened, though, more robots swarmed around her.

"No," she moaned. It was unlikely that she would be able to take out five or six robots/aliens/whatever the hell these things were with a Taser.

They advanced and Darcy shielded her head with her hands, quite pointlessly.

She waited for her impending death, though it didn't come. "HULK SMASH!" was what did, and then a giant green hand was lifting her up and pulling her back to safety. "HULK PROTECT STAR MAN GIRLFRIEND."

_Wo-ow_, Darcy thought. The whole relationship status thing was new—they hadn't even gone on a real date yet.

Hulk dropped her off in the lab, where she shared the good (bad?) news, and the scientist got to work.

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

They hid out there for almost ten more hours, living off nothing but Pop-Tarts and a bottle of orange juice from the fridge before someone unlocked the door.

"Steve!" Darcy yelled, standing up and running to the person, pressing her lips to his.

"Good guess, but no," the person rumbled. Darcy pulled back and stared into Johnny Storm's eyes. _Figures_.

"Ugh." When the real Steve arrived, Darcy double-checked it was him before kissing his lips. After a few seconds, she pulled away. "Hi."

Steve smiled. "Hi."

"Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"A few scratches, but we should be alright."

"Any casualties?"

"None."

Darcy smiled. "Good."

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

Finally, after twenty-four hours of nonstop nothing, Darcy got that shower. Thank god too, because the robots had knocked out the air conditioning, making it nearly impossible to sleep without stripping naked, which, when she lived with both Tony and Clint, was _so_ not an option.

While Natasha, Clint, and Steve were up at seven, latest, Darcy took her time sleeping in until ten, lying in bed until eleven, and pulling herself up at noon.

She ate two bowls of fruit loops, got dressed, called in sick, and watched romantic-comedies (for she had experienced her fair share of action) all day with Jane. Thor, too, but he was too confused by "Midgardian courting ceremonies" to care and instead hogged the popcorn bowl.

Clint dropped by to see what everyone was doing, and the next thing that happened was him crying through _The Notebook_ (though he would deny it if Darcy ever told), Natasha looking for Clint and rolling her eyes. "Любовь для детей," she had muttered. {Love is for children}

Bruce joined for _You Again_ and _First Wives Club_ (which even Natasha sort of paid attention to) and Tony complained the entire way through.

Finally, Steve found his way into the room, slightly scarred by the sex scenes in _Love Actually._

This came a surprise to Darcy—she assumed that Captain America would've, you know, done it before. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he was likely busy saving the world to, you know, do it.

She leaned against his shoulders as they finished the movie.

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

The next week, Tony and Pepper had returned from their vacation in Malibu (which had apparently ended up with Tony's mansion blowing up). There was a new threat out and Tony didn't want Darcy to get blown to bits so he let her have a few days off.

Steve was sent away on a mission with Clint and Natasha. Jane and Thor were…_busy_, and Tony was in the garage and had locked all the doors while he tried to perfect some new technological thing.

Oh, and Bruce had given up on her after an hour, so in a fit of boredom, she headed down to the gym with the hopes of getting about an hour of exercise in.

Ooh…maybe she could use the punching bag. She'd always wished her fists could do damage (without a Taser gripped inside, of course).

But sadly, once she reached the gym, an Asian woman was going at the bag like it had personally offended her. It swung with each hit, reminding Darcy of Steve a little. The woman was grunting with each blow, exhaling with each strike and _damn_ she must have been an assassin or something because when Darcy took a step forward, she whipped around, still in fighting stance.

"Sorry," she grumbled, dropping her hands. "You waiting for this?"

"Huh? Oh. No. Sorry," Darcy stumbled over her words.

"You can, if you want."

"No really, I can't punch."

The woman snorted. "Anyone can punch. Here." She held out a roll of tape. "Wrap your knuckles and then you can try."

Hesitantly, Darcy wrapped it around her hands.

"Good. Now, jab."

Darcy stood with her left foot forward and punched with her right fist.

"No. _Jab _is with your front arm. Front punch is with your left."

Darcy nodded. "Okay."

She stepped forward and punched.

(|)(|)(|)(|)(|)

The woman's name was Penelope, and she had anger issues.

Darcy's response when she told her this was, "Oh yeah. I have a friend with _really _bad anger issues. Like, way worse than yours."

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Darcy smiled. "_So_ much worse."

"Tell me about this friend," she probed as they headed into a shoe store.

"He's a scientist, and he has the coolest hair. It's, like, fluffy."

"Wow," Penelope laughed as she removed a pair of red running shoes. "Try these on."

Darcy took off her ratty old tennis shoes and put on the new ones. "Too tight." She grabbed another pair a half-size up and slipped them on. They fit almost perfectly.

"Yep. He's kind of sarcastic too, plus he's a super-genius."

"I'd say you think pretty highly of him." Penelope wiggled her eyebrows.

"What? No. I'm with someone—someone else. He's a, uh, soldier."

"Thank him for me," Penelope said as Darcy paid.

"I will," Darcy answered. She was close to speaking again, but a message appeared on her phone. "Sorry. I have a thing…a work thing."

"I'll see you at the tower sometime?"

"Definitely," Darcy promised, and the two women went their separate ways.

Foot before foot, Darcy began her route back to the tower. She's heard that New York was a dangerous city, but nothing had ever happened to her.

Well, until then.

A man in a mask jumped out, hitting her over the head with a brick before she could scream and carrying her away.

**A/N: Well, I wasn't planning for this to happen. Not at all.**

**On another note, I've noticed a serious lack of reviews. You don't have to do a novel-length analysis of the story or anything, but I know that there are at least sixty people reading (or looking or scanning or something) and maybe even some guests and your thoughts would mean a ton to me. You don't have to love it, but letting me know how to improve is really helpful.**

**Again, I apologize for my lack of talent for writing action scenes. **


	7. Bleak

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity (and I will show you memory)."

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

**A/N: I was bored so I threw in a little IM3. Not a ton, since I don't have a TV and can't watch it, but a little. **

_"__I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk alone,"_

-Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"

Chapter Seven

~Bleak~

Finding yourself zip-tied to a foldout chair in the middle of an abandoned warehouse was a real downer.

When (if ever) Darcy imagined herself in these situations, she thought that she would be prepared with master skills at running with a chair bound to her legs and wicked heels. This was _so_ not according to plan.

Oh yeah. And she was wearing a pair of gym shorts instead of a catsuit. That was enough to make her cry.

"Hello, Miss Lewis," a deep, rumbly voice greeted. An attractive blond was pointing a gun at her head, making her heart race. Oh god, she was going to die like this. Alone, zip-tied to a chair, with a bullet sitting in her brain. She'd never get married or have kids or anything.

Oh shit.

"Welcome."

"Hi." There. That didn't sound aggressive, right? Hopefully not.

"We have a friend of yours coming in a minute. You can keep each other company."

Who was coming? Natasha? She hoped to any supreme being out there that it was Natasha. But then again, Natasha wouldn't be dumb enough to get caught. And she was still on a mission. Fuck.

Fifteen minutes later, Blondie came back dragged her into a cell where someone familiar was sitting.

"Pepper?" Darcy whispered once the guard had left.

"He—Killian—this is all my fault," Pepper sobbed.

Darcy swatted her arm. "Don't say that. I mean, whatever happened, I'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault."

"He's developing a serum."

Darcy's head snapped up, knowing that "serums" resulted in giant green rage monsters and super-soldiers, that, in the wrong hands, could ruin the earth. "A serum?"

Pepper nodded. "It's to help people in the army grow back lost limbs. He's going to test it on us and if it works, he'll turn us against Tony."

"Oh fuck."

Pepper didn't reply to that, instead tearing up a little. "I never told him I loved him."

Whoa. Darcy knew that Pepper and Tony were close—the kisses gave them away—but she never really thought it was love. It was Tony Stark, not exactly a natural lover.

Love for Darcy was an easy thing. She naturally saw the good in people and if she trusted you and would cry at your funeral, she probably loved you. That didn't mean she was naïve—no. Not at all.

It was strange for the people around her, since, well, she hung out with spies and soldiers with incredibly guarded emotions. Natasha had rolled her eyes twice and smiled once in the month Darcy had known her, for gods' sake. And Thor…well, Jane would probably never hurt Thor. Not after everything she worked for to get him back. Well, unless he turned out to be some psychopathic monster…

"You!" a guard yelled, opening the gate and jabbing a finger at Darcy. "Come with me."

It wasn't as if she had a choice, so she allowed him to drag her into a lab.

Blondie came over. "Lie down on the table."

"Why?" Darcy asked.

"Because I'll shoot you in the head if you don't."

She spread her body across the table, heart thumping. _Ba-boom. Ba-boom. _

"This will only hurt if you fight it," he whispered, his breath hot on her ear.

The next thing she knew, a needle was being jabbed into her neck. And another into her stomach. And three into her arms.

Pain shot through her, through each vein and into her blood flow.

"Stop fighting," Blondie said again. "Your body must accept it."

No. No no no. This was not happening. It was all a dream.

Pain was replaced by tingling, replaced by power, replaced by…oh fuck. An explosion.

Darcy watched as the scar on her stomach heeled, as the slashes on her palm from being tossed around by a robot re-stitched themselves back together. _Holy shit_.

She didn't really have time to marvel at what was happening before a metal fist wrapped itself around her and yanked her up. It was like Iron Man and Steve had a baby—a giant metal man in a suit covered in stars and stripes was cradling her close to his body.

_Oh my god_, she realized. _I'm flying_.

She was. There were bombs below her and stars above her in a picture perfect portrait of chaos.

"Pepper!" she shrieked, clawing at her savior. "She's still in there!"

"Relax," Steve/Tony mutt answered. "Tony's got her."

"Then who are you?"

Steve/Tony mutt zoomed forward. "I'm the Iron Patriot," he boomed. "And without the suit, I'm Colonel James Rhodes."

He hovered over the terrace to Stark Tower and set her down.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., get some doctors up here."

Breathing heavily, Darcy began to panic, falling to the floor.

_._

_._

_._

A hand.

The first thing she registered was a hand gripping her own like it was a lifeline.

The second thing she registered was that it was Steve's.

She flipped one eye open, allowing her to see Captain America sleeping in a chair next to her bed.

Darcy, who had obviously never been one for patience, jabbed his shoulder with her finger. "Steve?"

He was awake in moments. "Darcy, thank God. You—you've been out for a week."

_A week? _It seemed like eternity. She was stuck in a corner of her mind, reliving her entire childhood and it had only been a week? "I'm back." She pulled her hand from his, wiggling her fingers. "Ta-da!"

"Stay here, I'm going to get the doctor," Steve murmured, kissing her on the forehead. He didn't seem in the mood for Darcy's humor.

After a few tests, Darcy was approved to return to her room (the entire hospital was underneath Stark tower) and she stood up gladly.

One torturous walk to the elevator, a three minute ride, and a lot of wincing later, Darcy was sitting on her couch.

"Is Pepper okay?"

"Fine. She fell a couple hundred feet, but with the Extremis, she was fine."

Leaning back, Darcy stared at the ceiling. It was an odd color. Eggshell? She'd have to paint it later. Definitely paint it later. Maybe purple, but since Tony probably wouldn't like purple, maybe blue. A sky blue.

"Hey Steve?" she asked, looking straight ahead.

"Mmm?" he muttered.

"I think I might love you," she said, gathering her confidence. For a moment, he didn't answer. It worried her a little.

"I think I might love you too."

Darcy smiled.

_._

_._

_._

"Let's have dinner," Steve declared one day.

Darcy paused her TV and looked at him, then her clock. "It's three in the afternoon."

"I mean, tonight. You know, a date. Tony said that we should go on one."

In an attempt to hide her smile, she kept talking. "What else did Tony say?"

"Well…he asked what base we're at. I told him we don't play baseball…" Steve trailed off.

She couldn't do it. With a snort, Darcy began to giggle. "Oh Steve. You poor, poor thing."

Steve looked puzzled, but was then distracted when Darcy turned the TV back on.

"Oh, and Cap? I'd love to."

_._

_._

_._

Dinner was amazing (some mildly expensive Italian food and ice cream). Steve was amazing (the perfect gentleman), and Darcy was less so.

Sure, she hadn't known where dinner would be, but when you wear a white dress to any place, it's bound to go to hell.

Problem #1: She realized early on that the dress was low cut, allowing a pretty spectacular view of her chest. Problem #2: The waiter noticed her dress. Problem #3: He was very clumsy. Problem #4: He was holding a glass of red wine. Was holding. Now, he was holding a glass full of air and Darcy was holding the red wine. With her boobs.

"I—I—I'm so—I'm so sorry."

The dick hadn't even torn his eyes off her breasts when he apologized.

In a low voice, Darcy began to speak. "You better move your perverted ass out of here before I fry your balls with my Taser."

Three seconds, and he had disappeared.

"Here," Steve offered, handing her his jacket. It was big enough to extend past her fingers and waist by inches, but at least it covered her up.

"You know what would be fun?" she asked.

"What?" Steve answered.

"If we went back to the tower and watched crappy TV."

"Okay."

So they walked back to the tower and ate ice cream as they watched_ Dance Moms. _

And yeah, it wasn't traditional for either of them, but neither would have it any other way.

_._

_._

_._

Tony had called her into the lab, opening up with some small talk and snarky banter, before throwing in "you're fired" and moving on.

"…red and gold, you know?"

Darcy forced her lips to move. "Wait, wait, wait. Back up. I'm _fired?_ I've only been working here for two weeks!"

"Yes." Tony pointed a screwdriver at her. "But in those two weeks, you have been attacked by giant robots, adopted a shitload of animals, gotten kidnapped by a psychopath, and been stuck in a coma for a week."

Well, when he put it like that…

"So instead, you'll go back to being a lab monkey for Jane and maybe Bruce, but he seems sane enough. You don't need to do any science, but you will be forcing her to eat again. Good?"

Darcy held up a hand. "If I'm fired, I want Penelope Huang moved up to your assistant."

Oh God, Penelope was going to kill her. She was being assigned to babysitting duty, but Darcy figured that if anyone could handle Tony, she could.

Tony stared at her for a moment, trying to see if she was serious. "I'll consider it."

"Fine," Darcy huffed.

_._

_._

_._

"I'm back!" Darcy announced, back to wearing sweaters and jeans and converse shoes. "Did you miss me?"

But then, she noticed that Jane's stuff was mostly in boxes.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you," Jane announced from the corner. "We're moving to England."

Now, if Darcy hadn't put her coffee mug onto the glass table, she would have dropped it and stood there with her jaw on the floor. "Seriously?"

Jane nodded. "There are some crazy signals, stuff I've been studying for months, that New Mexico couldn't compare to. You and Ian are coming with me."

"What?" Darcy exclaimed. "Who the hell is Ian?"

"That'd be me," a voice answered, soon followed by a body. "I'm Ian."

"Hey," Darcy greeted briefly before turning back to Jane. "England?"

"I've got an apartment rented. It's a little small, but it should be okay. There's crazy stuff happening, Darcy."

"No shit," she mumbled, looking around at everything. No matter how much she was surprised, she couldn't help but be a little giddy. England was supposed to be gorgeous, right? And Jane might even let her go to London for a few days so she could be a tourist. She was going to London. "What about my little Shoom-Shooms?" she asked, referring to the animals.

"Cats only," Jane answered, face contorted in apology.

Cats were good. Darcy liked her cats. But what about Ninja? Or Polka and Dot? What about them? _London_, a voice interrupted. _It's fucking London_.

"Okay. When are we leaving?"

"Next week."

Next fucking week? The cons were starting to outweigh the pros.

"Please Darcy? I would love it if you could come."

Oh shit. Not the doe eyes, Jane. Please. Not those fucking doe eyes. "Fine."

_._

_._

_._

"Going somewhere?" Steve asked, looking over Darcy's shoulder and at the multiple travel blogs she had open.

"Oh yeah."

Darcy had planned on telling Steve about this over dinner, with her own pair of doe eyes and a present, but those plans were going down the drain. "Where?" Steve asked.

"Um…London. With Jane for a science thing."

Steve nodded, taking it surprisingly well. "Do you need help packing?" he offered.

Grinning, Darcy nodded. "Sure."

So she shut her laptop and they headed up to her floor (she still had no idea how that happened; her own fucking floor at Avengers Tower).

In between clothes and her other random doo-dads, Steve found a picture of Darcy's mom and sister. On the back, there were flowery scribbles.

_Darcila, best of luck in college. We'll miss you. Love, Mother, Father, and Amelia_.

"Don't!" Darcy shouted, but it was too late. Steve was already reading the brief message on the back.

"Darcila?" he said it with a straight face, though there was some humor in his eyes.

"Laugh and die," she threatened, jabbing a finger against his chest. "And yes, that is really my mother."

Her mother had blonde curls and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a skirt suit with a little bit of ruffle at the hem, a clutch in her hands. Amelia was dressed in a lavender dress. She had probably been ten when the picture was taken, as it was Darcy's high-school graduation.

In the photo, Darcy looked strangest. Gone were the cat sweaters and jeans. She was wearing a cap and gown, low pumps, and her hair twisted into a French braid that made her ivory skin look paper white.

Darcy had never been the daughter her dear-old-mom wanted. Madeline Lewis expected a child that was destined to be the chairperson of the D.A.R. And really, Darcy didn't give a fuck about that. She respected people that did, sure, but she had approximately no interest in that kind of thing. Darcy wanted to be president, or queen, or an activist, but not a member of the D.A.R. Nope.

"You look…different," Steve commented.

"Yeah, yeah," Darcy mumbled. She swatted for the picture but he held it up above his head.

"I always kind of thought that with you being…you, your family would be like you," Steve noted.

Letting out a bitter laugh, Darcy climbed onto the bed and plucked the photo out of his hands. "Hmmm…no."

"Darcy…" Steve trailed off, but Darcy was too busy trying to shove the photo under her bed. "Darcy."

"What?" she mumbled, turning to face him.

He simply stepped forward, enveloping her frame in a hug. Darcy responded, wrapping her arms around his torso and letting him bury his face in her hair. "I'm going to miss you."

Darcy smiled sadly. "I'm going to miss you too."

And he held her tight, never wanting to have to let go.

**A/N: This chapter took way too long, and I'm so so sorry about that. I had it all written and was ready to post it, but then I was re-reading and realized it was kind of shit, so I dumped that draft and completely rewrote this one, and...um...yeah. Once again, I'm so so sorry. **

**On a slightly happier note, I have named the series. It's entitled ****_Quarter Life Crisis_****, and that took me forever to come up with. The sequel will be called ****_There's Nothing Left (On Which We Depend)_****. **

**Next chapter's the last one, and remember to review!**


	8. Soar

Category: Thor & Avengers

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, possible Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

Rating: T/PG-13 (language!)

Takes Place: Post_ Captain America: The First Avenger_ to post _Avengers_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Marvel owns. They don't share. I don't own the poem "Show me eternity and I will show you memory" either.

Summary: Darcy wasn't part of SHIELD. Darcy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's how she ended up being Steve's tour guide in the modern world. Darcy/Steve

**A/N: I do realize that this chapter is long overdue, but my best-friend/roommate overdosed on her medication and ended up in a coma, so I've been with her for the past week or so. She'll be okay, but she was my first priority at the moment. **

**It's more of an epilogue than anything. **

_"__I get carried away  
Carried away from you  
And I'm hoping and I'm praying  
Cause I'm sorry, sorry about that  
Sorry about the things that I said  
Always let it get to my head,"_

-Passion Pit, "Carried Away"

Chapter Eight

~Soar~

Hawaiians were pretty damn smart, Darcy rationalized, to make 'hello' and 'goodbye' the same word.

Crap. Now she was sad again.

Wiping furiously at her tears, Darcy took a final look around Steve's room. Everything was in place.

Suddenly, her cell-phone began ringing. "Lady Darcy?" Thor boomed. Wincing, Darcy yanked the phone away from her ear before hesitantly bringing it closer. "The Captain is heading back to his room now. Are you finished with your surprise?"

At the volume Thor was talking at, Darcy figured that it was probably not very much of a surprise. "Yes."

So after hanging up, Darcy made her way to the door only to run into Steve. "Darcy?"

"Steve! Hey…" She forced a laugh. "So, there's a thing happening. I got you a going-away present I guess. So, uh, yeah. I dunno. It was supposed to be a vintage little thing…Tony even got me this dress for it…" Darcy trailed off, thinking back to when Tony handed her the box. Her old-fashioned outfit looked amazing, if she said so herself. "Now I know that this was something that happened after the crash," she warned him, blocking the door to his room, "but I think you'll like it." With that dramatic flair that only she could pull off, Darcy swung open the door to his room and he walked in, seeing nothing changed but…_oh_…a record player in the corner.

"I had one growing up. They didn't come after the crash."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Not talking about the record player, I'm talking about the album."

A copy of Nat King Cole's _L-O-V-E _was sitting before Steve.

"Start it."

He slowly, carefully, put the needle on the vinyl.

"See, we can attempt to dance," Darcy cheered, proud of herself.

"I can't dance," Steve answered. She grabbed his hand.

"That's why I said _attempt_."

So he turned her around and they improvised, her tripping over her own heels.

They fell into a steady rhythm just as the album finished.

Quickly, Darcy grabbed one of her other albums (_19_ by Adele) and they began to do some weird folk-y routine that was half spinning and half stumbling. They tripped through "Daydreamer" and "Best for Last" before swaying through "Chasing Pavements." Steve turned her through "Cold Shoulder" before Darcy's favorite ("Crazy For You") began to play.

_Tell me to run and I'll race,  
If you want me to stop I'll freeze,  
And if you want me gone, I'll leave,  
Just hold me closer, baby,  
And make me crazy for you.  
Crazy for you._

Darcy looked gorgeous with her wild curls flying around her head and her skirt twirling around her.

"Hey, Steve," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."

He dipped his head down so that his words could be heard. "I love you too."

Her hips swayed slowly through "First Love," which was admittedly heartbreaking, but most good albums had a few of those.

She fell asleep during "Hometown Glory," and Steve carried her downstairs, laying her down on her bed to sleep.

_._

_._

_._

_Beeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeep._ _Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_.

Darcy smashed her alarm clock with her fist repeatedly. "Shut up, you little monster," she grumbled before giving up altogether and yanking the cord out of the wall.

With a sigh, she sat up and stretched, frowning at the time. _3:30 a.m. _Tony had a friggin private jet. Couldn't he at least fly her at a decent time?

After cracking her neck and attempting to lie back down, Darcy dragged herself to the bathroom so she could brush her hair and comb her teeth. Wait. No. Brush her teeth and comb her hair. That was better.

After turning on her morning playlist (Passion Pit, Grimes, and Grouplove mostly) she pulled out her jeans and a sweater, opting for glasses instead of contacts and a magenta hat.

It was tempting to make breakfast in her kitchen, but the communal kitchen had so much more to offer her growling stomach.

Slowly and really not surely, Darcy stumbled to the elevator. When she arrive, a plate of croissants was waiting for her, Steve sitting next to them. "Hey."

"Hi."

He extended a hand holding a coffee mug. "It's black."

Gratefully, she took a sip of the bitter liquid, allowing it to slip down her throat.

"You look beautiful," he informed her.

"Hardy-har-har,"she bit out, searching for some butter in the massive fridge. She found a stick and closed the door, satisfied.

"I'm serious," he responded. Darcy stretched again as Jane ambled into the area.

"Here," Darcy said in welcome, handing her a croissant. "Eat."

Steve looked at the two women as they chewed noisily and yawned. "So—"

"Shh…" Darcy hushed him. "I'm letting my senses absorb the food. Where is this from, anyway?"

"A bakery in California," Tony replied, strutting into the kitchen. "Each one of those costs forty-seven dollars."

Darcy spit a partially chewed pastry onto the table. "Forty-seven dollars?" she cried, wiping her mouth and grabbing a napkin to clean up the mess. "That's bullshit. It's good but not…not _that_ good."

Steve never really got used to how much Darcy cursed, but he found it strangely attractive.

"You know what would make this good?" Darcy baited Tony. "Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate." Tony rolled his eyes.

"You can't have everything."

Thor was off in Asgard taking care of family matters while they were living in London. That would be nice, at least. She wouldn't be pining over Steve while Jane was living a perfect little fantasy.

Suddenly, the doggie-door Tony installed on the stairwell opened and all of Darcy's canines rushed out, followed by Natasha (through the regular door, not the doggie-door).

"Bye, my little comrades," Darcy cooed, petting Ninja behind the ears. "I'll miss you." Then, she turned to Natasha. "Twice a day. And regular dog-food, not the expensive shit Tony feeds them."

The redhead nodded.

"You need to get to the roof," Tony informed them, observing a message on his phone.

"I'll walk you," Steve offered.

"Thanks."

She picked up her suitcase from her room on the way up, a sinking feeling filling her gut.

"Bye," Darcy said. "I'll see you, uh, soon."

Steve, hands in his pockets, nodded. "I'll see you soon."

Without warning, Darcy threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

She inhaled his musky scent for a moment, just smelling him (and he smelled damn nice, too).

"I love you."

"I love you too."

She boarded. "Congratulations, Capsicle," Tony said smiling proudly and clapping Steve on the back.

Awkwardly nodding, Steve replied, "Thanks."

Once she was seated and settled on the plane, she looked out the window, smiling at him.

_Aloha_.

Thank you, Hawaiians.

.

.

.

**A/N: So yeah. This turned out to be pretty short, but I am planning a sequel. It should be published fairly soon and will focus on Phase 2. Because the ****_Avengers: Age of Ultron_**** isn't out yet, I'll be making that up on my own. Unless, of course, it's out by the time I'm writing it, in which case I'll go sort of canon.**

**I want to thank everyone who ever read this. You're all so amazing. Make sure to leave a review on the way out, it would mean the world to me. **

**P.S. Look out for oneshots taking place in the ****_Quarter Life Crisis _****series. **


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